[dredmorbius]

Conflated, or used the shibboleth of "free-market capitalism" as a cover for monopoly mercantilistic rent-extraction.

Having put a fairly considerable amount of study into the history of economic thought, back to Greek and Roman times (see Backhouse's The Ordinary Business of Life for a comprehensive, if dry, overview of mainstream economic thought), and with a strong focus on Smith to present, this problem is a pervasive one.

The irony is that it's practiced quite ardently by many of the loudest "defenders" of free-market systems. (Not always -- there are straight-up monopolists who have given up all pretense. Most, though, preach and act inconsistently.)