A major proponent of the (government) free market is Ayn Rand, who believes that "a system of pure, unregulated laissez-faire capitalism has never yet existed anywhere" (72). Rand argues that liberalists use big business as a scapegoat for problems created by the lack of a truly free market, a market in which she believes many of these misrepresented problems would be rectified. Rand states that, "All the evils, abuses, and iniquities, popularly ascribed to businessmen and to capitalism, were not caused by an unregulated economy or by a free market, but by government intervention into the economy" (72).
There are, however, several problems facing a free market economy that Rand either overlooks or outright ignores in her argument. The first is that, even more so than other forms of capitalism, free market economies place a great deal of power into the hands of wealthy businessmen and corporations. Although Rand sees this as economic power, it is not a stretch that one who controls the economy in such a magnitude as Rand's own example, J.P. Morgan, would also wield a great deal of political power as well. Businesses under a capitalist economy also run in an anti-democratic fashion as the employer and the employees - if not protected under a union - endure what is often a master and servant relationship. This practice can be attributed to the capitalist principle as profit and self-interest being the driving motivational force in capitalist societies. However, the question then must be posed: is this policy good for society?.
A capitalist would likely answer this question by citing the fact that under capitalism every individual has equal opportunity. That is, anyone can strike it rich. However, economic as well as innate disparities among human beings make truly equal opportunity a myth. The fact remains that being born into a wealthy family, having a physical or mental defect, and access to educational resources can distort the capitalist equal opportunity before one has even reached adulthood.
