What’s the problem with a free market?

Free markets did exist in the past. It was based on the simple barter and trade concept. You need this, I will give you this in exchange. It eventually evolved. You did take your chances when you made the trade. But truth be told, most people didn't care as long as they made what they considered a fair trade. Yes, there were issues with safety but much of that was localized and villagers generally knew where the products were coming from. Towns were much more interconnected. Sure, there was greed but no more than there is now. In fact, greed was more reigned in because people actually knew the value or commodity of what they had. In its simplest form free trade was based on the principle of supply and demand. When merchants traveled, they expected to pay bribes but they also made sure that they had decent reputations. You should do some research into traveling merchants. They are actually very close to what a free trade system looked like.

What the people who gave you those replies don't seem to understand is, a free market isn't anarchy. Free market is regulated, it is subject to laws and it benefits everyone. Even the US Constitution allows for limited regulation of commerce. The "interstate commerce clause" we included because no single state would have any ability to regulate commerce that crossed a border. It also doesn't say that states can't regulate commerce, which automatically means it can, so long as the people of the state authorize it. What many people think of when they have a bad attitude about the free market is the abuses of employees. Those weren't examples of free market, those were examples of corrupt government officials who refused to enforce the law. There has never been a time in the US that assault and battery was legal. There was never a time when it was legal to not pay someone who wasn't bought as a slave. The abuses were criminal acts, but when no one is willing to enforce the law, laws don't mean much any more. The local government's role in free enterprise is much like their role in traffic control. The best regulations are the ones that keep traffic flowing as smoothly as possible. The government's role is never to upset the laws of supply and demand, or open competition. Which means most of the corruption that exists in free enterprise today are the exact opposite of free enterprise. Free enterprise is the worst system there is, except all the others ones. But when it is actually allowed to exist, it gives everyone the best chance at success... and failure.

The problem with a free market is that it doesn't exist. History shows that in a market unregulated by government, power amasses to one market player or another who then exercise that power to control the market. For example, all the practices banned by the Sherman anti-trust act. Generally, when someone extolls the virtues of a free market, what they really mean is that they want you to let them take control of the market. The code of Hammurabbi regulated the market of his day.

Free market often leads to the lower quality of products as everybody is trying to make things cheap and disposable these days. So, many products get broken sooner, often right after the warranty expires. On the other hand, prices are often kept high anyway as every retailer wants to make as much as possible too. By the way, I am not free market opponent, but I see the negatives too.

I saw something on TV the other day which showed New York city (at its birth) as a free market society for all types of immigrants who came to America. From what I could see, the biggest issue with free market society were health concerns. You might actually die from what anyone could sell you (intentionality or not). To me, this is a really scary way to live. But yeah, if your writing an article on the subject, I'd highly recommend using New York as one of the key examples of the evolution of free market society.