The term "free market" does not mean free of regulation. It means free of government interference, that is, legal plunder and other official aggressive force. ~ Reason Magazine

The Free Market Doesn't Need Government Regulation
Bureaucrats regulate by threat of physical force while the market operates peacefully through millions of cooperating participants.

by Sheldon Richman
August 5, 2012

What's overlooked--intentionally or not--is that the alternative to a government-regulated economy is not an unregulated one. As a matter of fact, "unregulated economy," like square circle, is a contradiction in terms. If it's truly unregulated it's not an economy, and if it's an economy, it's not unregulated. The term "free market" does not mean free of regulation. It means free of government interference, that is, legal plunder and other official aggressive force.

Ludwig von Mises and F. A. Hayek pointed out years ago that the real issue regarding economic planning is not: To plan or not to plan? But rather: Who plans (centralized state officials or decentralized private individuals in the market)?

Likewise, the question is not: to regulate or not to regulate. It is, rather, who (or what) regulates?

Read the rest here.