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[–]StrategicTactic 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

These are not elements of a free market. These are the very elements that are denied in a free market. Big fish try to eat small fish, but only succeed when they can create rules that prevent the entry of opposing market forces. And the only way that happens is when government interferes. You can take any regulation, and it hurts someone- by design.

Let us say you want to ensure people get uncontaminated fresh food. So you (government) regulate the food market and say that you need to prove your worth as a cook and get a certificate of skill and proof of a clean kitchen. Who did you hurt? By law, you have just make it impossible for a 14 year old to have a lemonade stand, as they do not have the capital that a full kitchen would. Their plank board kiosk does not meet your requirements for a kitchen, nor do they have the money for a certification. And no, I am not using some crazy example that could not happen, it has happened: https://www.foxnews.com/food-drink/rhode-island-police-shut-down-kids-lemonade-stand-citing-city-ordinance-concerning-commercial-vendors

Any restriction is overcome with capital. The only people who are hurt by such are those without the capital, which are small businesses. There is no scenario where a third party can dictate to two others and those two others be entirely free. This is the entirety of the free market and why monopolies form in the first place, because they are able to influence laws and get past restrictions that stop competition.