What makes you believe the most powerful players today, wouldn't remain the most powerful ones in a free market tomorrow?
Their massive advantage would suddenly vanish?
You know, the more things change, the more they stay the same
If you and I aren't jeff bezos or donald trump, it's not the government's fault
That's the hard cold truth right there
Oh, I don't think that at all. Once you become royalty, it doesn't just go away. The problem is that they even got to that point to begin with. It would probably take 50 years of honest laws to get back to true freedom and equality for the people. But we have to start somewhere. The alternative is that things will just keep getting worse. Or we have a full on commie revolution and be people just become de facto royalty through government power alone.
I think bezos would still be on top of the food chain in a free market, at least at the position he's at today
And that applies to pretty much all other other big players from the private sector btw
And where does the free market stops btw? Unlimited? As in all is private?
Yeah, there will definitely still be powerful and wealthy people in a free market, but they will have to get there through genuine merit, as opposed to just pure corruption like many of our ruling class people. And I really don't have a problem with wealthy and successful people. I have a problem with how most of them got to that point. And how they maintain that status as well.
As far as where the free market stops, there rally shouldn't be a limit. The government can maintain the means of production for what it needs to sustain, and allow for private means of production to fill the gaps or provide a competing service. Like how USPS and UPS operate in identical domains, but allow citizens the choice. I actually think the USPS should be the standard for how most bureaucracy operates. Financial accountability, with a goal towards self-sufficiency. It is by no means perfect, but at least it's reliable and not burdensome to the taxpayer. That's an entirely separate conversation though.
Back to the topic, free markets specifically mean two things to me. No (or very little) governmental barriers to operating a business. And most importantly, the gov has to ensure that businesses aren't creating artificial barriers to others joining the market, which would prevent fair competition. This obviously covers monopolies, but another example is a business using its power to control another business. Like a bank telling it's customers that they can't transfer money to competing banks, can't buy form industries they disapprove of (firearms, for example), or banning customers from operating their own business. A side note, business would also be banned from controlling how customers interact with political entities, like banning customers of a certain political affiliation, or banning them from working for/donating to those political entities.
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