What are the advantages and disadvantages of relying fully on the free private market?

Lia Argall: I'm not sure I understand your question. What you listed are traditionally socialistic services paid for through taxes. When you desire services from the private market, you will find a large range of the quality of the service, the cost of the service, and the reliability of the service. For instance, take street lighting. When you say free market, do you suggest, everyone buys their own street light? That would further increase crime in poor neighborhoods where they cannot afford the expense. The same negative fits for the others too, education, fire services, and health care all will be substandard or totally absent in poor neighborhoods. The private market does increase opportunity for those who can afford it however. Private schools are do have better programming, and expensive private health insurance will pay for more services. Also, privatization, spurs competition, which reduces cost and improves efficiency. Anything done by the government i! s nearly always expensive and inefficient. Private companies can also go out of business, in which case the community would either have to buy them, or go without servicesFrom your list, I believe health care is the most free market aspect of our society (for now) and probably fire service or street lighting is the most socialized. ...Show more