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higginsniggins | 4 months ago

A free market just means that people are allowed to buy and sell what they want. If a government decides to help some industries that is irrelevant.

It stops being free when government attacks economic activity, not when it promotes it.

discuss

order

nine_k|4 months ago

"Dumping" (selling at an artificially low price) is widely considered an attack on economic activity of the competitors, even though it may spur the economic activity of the consumers of the products being dumped.

In this regard, the Chinese government pouring large subsidies into solar panel production both spurred the economic activity around installing solar panels, and attacked / thwarted in around production of the panels themselves, if the production happens outside China. Only the US was able to somehow develop solar panel production.

higginsniggins|4 months ago

"attack on economic activity of the competitors"

Thats competition. It is a feature of markets.

not a bug.

maximus_01|4 months ago

I'm not really disagreeing with you as it's not like there is a 100% true definition of a free market, different people can have different conceptions, but the original Adam Smith / classical view is that a free market should essentially be 100% driven by the private market on supply and demand - with as little government intervention as possible on either side of the ledger (subsidy or blocking)

throttlebody|4 months ago

Monopoly is a free market game and thete is only one winner. Free markets as such is an utopia dream.

flybarrel|4 months ago

mmm by that definition, which market is truly free market again? I'm not sure you can find one tbh