Is the concept of “Free Market” more of a method than a system?
A free market economy is “an economic system in which individuals, rather than government, make the majority of decisions regarding economic activities and transactions.”[6] In social philosophy, a free market economy is a system for allocating goods within a society: purchasing power mediated by supply and demand within the market determines who gets what and what is produced, rather than the state. Early proponents of a free-market economy in 18th century Europe contrasted it with the medieval, early modern, and mercantilist economies which preceded it. The key idea of a free market is voluntary exchange. If an exchange takes place under coercion or fraud, then that exchange is not considered a free market exchange. For example, if someone threatens someone with a gun to purchase what he is selling or exaggerates the item’s quality, then that is a not a free market. If the government legally prevents a merchant from selling his goods at any prices he wishes and that buyers agree upon
