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Yes, that is how the free market works. If people don't notice or are entirely focused on price, then they'll accept the lower-quality product. There will be a place in the market for luxury goods, but cheap alternatives need to exist as well for the price-conscious.
Corporations sell inferior product, it kills hundreds of people. They claim no responsibility and move on without any government intervention. Maybe a few lower level employees lose their jobs, despite the choice to release the deadly product coming from above.
People are dead. People are unemployed. Wealth shifts upward. No accountability. “ThAt’S HoW the FrEe MaRkEt WoRkS!”
Yes, and that's why, even in brutal hypercapitalist America, we fucking regulate the free market.
And why we should abolish the free market in the long run, for that matter.
Because having the "freedom" to buy poisonous adulterated foodstuffs, if you're too poor to buy real good food, is like having the "freedom" to accept sub-minimum wages if you're desperate enough for money. Not freedom, but exploitation.
I wish we were hyper-capitalist, what we really have is privatized profits and socialized losses.
If we were hyper-capitalist, we would have let banks and businesses fail in 2008.
The problem is we have a system that is protects businesses, and antagonizes individuals.
I don't know about that. The current administration are definitely trying to nuke out every regulation they can, starting by shutting down the regulating agencies. A law that isn't enforced is a polite joke - every one of the people in charge have seen that, so they're ending enforcement.
And why we should abolish the free market in the long run, for that matter.
Abolish free market?
You want the government to control all the means of production and the distribution of wealth, and be able to dictate the prices of goods and services and wages?
Like it sounds nice, just like communism in theory.
Could it work out? Sure. Would it? I don't think so
You want the government to control all the means of production and the distribution of wealth, and be able to dictate the prices of goods and services and wages?
I think one important point is that we have nutrition labels mandated by regulation so that consumers can see how much sawdust is in the rice crispie they're buying.
The logical extreme would be no regulation at all and expecting consumers to scientifically test every rice crispie they buy to determine the amount of calories in it.
See, that's why the current admin wants to abolish the FDA. The food manufacturers consider that accurate labeling law onerous, and want it gone. Caveat emptor, etc.
I feel you are making a good point, in a free market people will choose, it is literally in their best interest to choose, and if someone produces a sub par or even poisonous product, the people will choose not to use the product and basically self regulate. Our country had this sudden boom of Shein clothing, they were cheaper so of course they dominated. The government tried exercising control by confiscating the clothes or adding extra tariffs on the clothes and it really was ineffective, our ports are basically so corrupt anything gets through. But now two to three years later even the newspapers are picking up on the growing textile industry thanks to everyone buying locally made clothes that are higher quality that lasts more than 5 washes. Yes there was a market disruption but the market is regulating itself, and cheap clothes from China or Pakistan will have there place, they will only have enough space the market decides for itself.
Here is an opinion piece regarding the recent shifts, https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-07-07-after-the-bell-shopping-sucks-but-sa-is-stitching-a-comeback/