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So rather than take the risk that a part of government may become corrupt, and attempt to manage that risk with a system of checks and balances, we shouldn't give the government any power whatsoever, and instead leave any other organization that gains any form of power free to use that power without restriction?

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Precisely. As long as that power was obtained through voluntary cooperation in the market, there is no concern. Power in a free market sense is only gained by being valuable. No longer valuable to your customers, no longer powerful.

Government Power and Market Power are pretty much opposite.

So in a free market, all entities inherently act in the best interest of their customers, regardless of whether or not there's competition? And they wouldn't use their position to do anything anticompetitive to maintain that position and keep the "free" market effectively closed?

My point is, without some entity establishing rules of fair play, the market isn't a free one, because one player can gain enough power to effectively close the market to any competitors.

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