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Mark writes:
>In a market we have one party (made of many people) with a need (demand)
and another party (again made up of many) who can fulfill this need
(supply).  These parties associate to gain a common benefit.  What can be
more cooperative than this?
The trouble is that many of our markets are not free.  You cannot sell to
certain people (certainly not at the price you want) and you can't buy from
certain people for they don't have an "official" blessing to do so.  The
trouble is not that markets are not cooperative, it's that we don't let them
be.

No. You are speaking about an economic ideal model that does not exist in
the real world. If an instance occurs where such a market exists it does not
last long, because quite simply no provider of the product/service would
make a profit.   Your ideal model, in it's simplest incarnation, completely
omits where the commodity is sources, how close the consumer lives or can
gain access to supply, barriers to entry (if you think the motor industry is
an example, try going out tomorrow to mass-produce automobiles. Good luck.).
Numerous markets require regulation because the consumers and producers are
not "meeting in the middle" fulfilling mutual needs.  The producer will
always prefer to be a monopoly, and the consumer would (generally) prefer a
free market.  The real world tends towards oligopoly, and that's precisely
why markets frequently require monitoring and regulation, to protect
consumers.

Mr Byrne makes the essential point on this.

>...Who are our real guardians and who claims to be?  And it's not the fault
of the founders of the USA, it is our own ignorance of human nature.

>But as you alluded to earlier, why do you think the wolves will stop the
rot if indeed it gets them more hens?  It is much easier to generate
excessive gain with the help of government than to go it alone.  What we
tend to miss is that the discontent is a misdirection that allows the wolves
greater access.  Why would the wolves prevent the envy and discontent, they
require it.

Do you agree that the wolves may also include military equipment
manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies and natural resource extractors as
well as those seeking to increase social welfare benefits and wider health
cover to citizens?

Cheers

Richard








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