i don't disagree, adafruit is probably acting in their best interest, however they perceive what that interest might be, it's not always just "more profit", more often than not, it's a matter of survival that is at stake.

My issue was with the comment somehow suggesting the entire system (Big Bad Market) is somehow less wise than an individual actor.

Yet, the entire system contains much more information, that the individual actor does not, and can never have access to, e.g. value judgements of other market participants he will never meet.

Markets, at the core, are just auctions. It's one way to resolve the question who gets the scarce resource first. At other times, it's medical triage, a system very different from "free markets". It can also be first-come, first-serve, which is what currently being attempted by Adafruit now.

Many such options. Why is "free market" judged to be inappropriate here?

From my experience in markets with severe shortages, first-come/first-serve rationing approach never failed to produce a poor supply, and free floating markets were always oversupplied (to a varying extent, but in general there was a trend).