I think the lesson to learn here is that there is no such thing as a "free market" - all markets are constrained to some degree by the regulations that shape them. Markets are human creations just like languages, and the rules around them are designed either consciously or passively.

When you let special interest groups define the rules, they tend to define them in their own favor. In the modern industrial state, corporations have discovered a very successful tactic of evading conscious interference by proclaiming their desire for "free markets" and then lobbying behind the scenes to tilt markets in their favor.

When people wake up to this reality and smart businesspeople like those on HN stop pretending that a "free market" is some god-given natural state of affairs, then we will be able to level the playing field for small businesses against the corporate interests. Smart regulations are important to avoid abuse of power.