The reason free markets are great isn&#x27;t their speed (though they are often faster than your average politician); it&#x27;s the self-regulating nature of it.
You don&#x27;t have to <i>tell</i> people to stop buying overly-expensive food, nor do you have to tell the food stores to cut their prices. Over time, they each realize that the higher price isn&#x27;t working; the customer buys elsewhere (either across the street or aceoss the state), and the grocery store lowers its prices until people decide that it&#x27;s worth it again.<p>Companies don&#x27;t have to be <i>told</i> to improve, either, not when their competitors are improving and eating market space. At least, that&#x27;s how it works in theory. A lot of industries have turned into demilitarized zones, both sides opposed but neither making a move. Telecom is the best example of how bad this gets.