[skookumchuck]

The spectacular performance of the US economy, 1800 to the present, relative to countries with varying levels of socialism. The poor performance of socialist industries in the US. The failure of any socialist/communal agricultural system to produce enough food to feed itself. (Even the Soviets gave up on collective farms.)

[Apocryphon]

Was the market in 19th century America truly free?

http://histsociety.blogspot.com/2013/12/why-were-tariffs-pol...

[skookumchuck]

Was it a perfect free market? Nope. Nothing human is perfect. But it was a workable approximation of one.

[Apocryphon]

This isn’t a moral judgment. But a market propped up with strong tariffs is by definition not a free market. The American economy you’re lauding was a mixed economy.

[skookumchuck]

You can't make water 100% pure, either. That doesn't mean you're not drinking water.

Your claim that it must be perfect to be considered a free market is argumentative, not substantive.

[Apocryphon]

Ha-Joong Chang might disagree[0], but okay I’ll dodge the No True Scotsman accusation.

What’s your definition of free market, then?

[0] https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/comment/ha-joon-...

[skookumchuck]

It consists of transactions among freely consenting adults that do not use force or fraud.