For one, there is no such thing as a “free” market in this world that is not a controlled market. Every market has controls placed on it.
“Free market” ideology is just anti-regulation ideology, which again is antithetical to how every market in the world actually operates. Which is why being against regulation and market controls wholesale is generally very stupid
There is nothing wrong with being against certain regulations for specific reasons, thats not what Im talking about. But rather being against regulation in general and imagining all regulation as inherently bad for the economy.
In this case, consumers having right to repair would be a regulation, and therefore doesnt fit in the ideology of people who jerk it to the idea of a “free” market because they dont understand how the economy actually works. Right to repair does not exist in a free market
thanksforallthefish@literature.cafe 6 days ago
There are very few markets in the US that actually achieve Adam Smith’s “perfect market” (perfect competition)
The more expensive the individual item, the harder it is for there to be competition (costs of standing up factories, distribution and support, low volumes of sales etc), it’s extremely expensive to set up in opposition to John Deere
There are other market statuses other than “controlled” and “free” - the vast majority of US markets are Oligopolies (few sellers many buyers). Processed / packaged foods for example - 99% of market volume is done by a couple of players.
A century ago there were many farm machinery manufacturers - the individual machines were less expensive in real terms, and the complexity much lower. A virtual monopoly (one very large and a few smaller players) has formed through insufficient regulation to protect competition - the big ones gobble up the small and competition gradually dwindles