Earlier quoted context omitted.
*> the damage that too much free market causes This is an unfortunate misunderstanding of the term "capitalism". While many people who call themselves capitalists would like everyone else to think it means a free market, the capitalists themselves don't mean that. They mean simply that they acquire control of more capital, by hook or by crook. If they can most easily acquire control of more capital in a free market,…
You make a very good point about capitalism vs. free market. I would only amend my comment to say that I think there is evidence that too much of either capitalism or free market can be damaging. For instance (and to use your definitions -- which I like -- if I understand them correctly), Comcast is the result of runaway capitalism, and the US healthcare system is too much free market. I also like your point about ac…
It most certainly is not. The US health care system is basically a hodgepodge of somewhat free markets and draconian government regulation, which combines the worst features of both. It is nothing like what an actual free market in health care would produce.
To name just one important difference: in the US health care system, people purchasing health care services have no idea what they actually cost (because most of the cost is borne by their health insurance), and therefore have no idea whether those services are worth their cost. Yes, if you need a lifesaving operation you basically don't care what it costs; but most health care is not lifesaving operations but routine services like annual physical exams, immunizations, visits for simple ailments like a cold or flu, etc. Since people using these services don't see their actual cost, they don't know if they're getting proper value received for the cost. That means the most important mechanism of a free market, the ability of consumers to choose the best value for their money, can't work.