Definition of markets

WSNers: Mine, quoting a Prof. Rose (I think) writes "What is a market?  It 
is an
institution set up by society to allocate resources that are scarce 
relative to
the demand for them."

The key is how to cash out the phrase "set up be society." If it means a
democratic (or otherwise organized) collective, certainly not. If it means a
buyer and seller got together or maybe a bunch of buyers and sellers and 
found
their prices had to conform to some certain rules of behavior, then yes.

The rest of the post quoting Rose is basic free market economics given to
beginning students. Later on they find out that the frameworks provided by
governments and other power centers (armies, political ideologies) are
absolutely crucial in giving a realistic account of economies. The study of
Japanese economic thinking and behavior is a real eye opener in its fairly
explicit rejection of free markets. For example, look at the semiconductor
market. The whole thrust of Japanese conductor makers was to corner the 
market

So markets are rather different place to place. That is a first step in 
getting
beyond monolithic explanations in terms of a single "capitalism."

Randy Groves