the idea of a "Free Market" is so abstract people often don't counter questions about it effectively
so here's a new way to talk about it:
The Free Market is a State offloading the burden of Due Dilligence and Regulation to the consumer
Allowing companies to lie to you, and putting the fault at your feet. If you don't like it, sue them! Good luck :)!
It's about the State abdicating it's duty as the only institution with enough Business Knowledge to tell you when a deal is bad. The benefit of "The Free Market", for companies, is they get to lie to you and set their own prices and policies, because having to actually tell the truth and adjust to what people ACTUALLY NEED, is too high a burden for people wanting to do nothing but make money.
In regulated markets, the people they lie to actually have the resources to fact check them reliably.
@tjc had useful additions at:
https://cohost.org/tjc/post/3468743-the-corollary-here-i
and @ClaireWerewolf brings in the economics perspective:
https://cohost.org/ClaireWerewolf/post/3469968-i-have-a-degree-in-e