Most if not all on this board know the difference between the mainstream view of the “free market” and a genuine free market. On another board, there was some debate over whether it would be apt to use another term to describe a genuine free market. One term that came up was “freed market”. Curious to hear your thoughts on adopting this term.
Open market?
Perhaps we could rename the mainstream view of the free market, the “Licensed Market” and use the term “Freed Market” as proposed.
I like the terms voluntary and involuntary, so it would look something like this:
The voluntary and involuntary markets instead of the free and freed markets
and also,
The voluntary and involuntary sectors instead of the private and public sectors. I think this would also help more people understand that just because the business is privately owned doesn’t make it “Capitalism” i.e the Federal Reserve Bank, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac etc. would be part of the involuntary sector.
I think it’s definitely worth using “freed market.” The change of tense creates an element of distance that makes it clear you’re not talking about actually existing markets. Too often libertarians defend the status quo, thinking it’s a free market, when in reality there are statist elements they should be attacking. And surely we want to avoid being apologists for statism!
I like the terms voluntary and involuntary markets as well. The only caveat is it not as catchy as Open Market, Free Market, or Freed Market.
If we replace the term “free market,” we should replace it with “open market.” I’ve used the term “free and open market(s)” before in debates.
I never thought of it that way, that the current market is a “licensed market”.
From one point of view, the term “license” may provide legitimacy to a company as opposed to describing restrictions of the that particular market.
The term “open market” may have merit, in that their is traction with the term “open” in the “open source” community.
I have no objections, and I think the term would translate well into many languages.
I’ve used “free and open market(s)” before in order to emphasize the part that entrepreneurs are free to enter and exit business without any government regulations or mandates.
I would suggest “Hampered Market” as an alternative to “Licensed Market”
How about just “the market”?
Free market is a matter of degree though. So while ours may not be entirely free, it is mostly free. Some markets are freer than others.
I like the term market, because it is simple. However, the term “market” also has a negative connotation similar to “free market”, although technically, it is an accurate term.
No, it’s not. Try opening a business.
I guess “mostly free” is like being “mostly pregnant”.
I could agree with the notion that some markets are freer than others, but that doesn’t make them “free” markets, unless the market is completely free. Until then, it’s a mixed market economy.
(Thanks to whoever linked that before. I love pulling it out on people who assert that XYZ is unregulated.)
While we’re discussing terminology, I think “mixed economy” is one of the worst phrases an Austrian could ever use, because it implies that some mixture is actually possible.