Making Money In A Free Market

Every week or two, we complain about the almost countless money problems we have. Most of them border around the lack of it. We're unable to make ends meet.

But the thing is that we live in relative prosperity admist the systemic problems we're experiencing. So why or what's the disconnect?

My supposition is that (1) this prosperity isn't able to spread far and wide yet. And (2) we're still operating from an old mindset that is no longer relevant today.

It's almost obvious that prosperity by itself will not spread far and wide. Not everyone will want for it to spread far and wide and some will argue that it is not even possible.

But I believe that it's in our own personal best interest that prosperity spreads to many places. Shedding away the old mindset will require a change in standpoint, from reactive to proactive.

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Free Markets

Free markets are markets that are loosely regulated or unregulated by the government. An economic system that is free from government intervention.

At a glance, the drawbacks seems large. What's not controlled will be out of control. Bullies can enter the market and monopolized it, raising the barrier of entry. Little to no stability. Wealth and income inequality will be apparent.

This is all valid and true. But we often miss the fact that it is not stagnant. These drawbacks are constantly tilting from one end to another. It doesn't mean we should wait and bade our time to let things change.

Rather, it means that there are ways to upend the stagnancy to gain an economic advantage in a free market. One of them being innovation.

At the basic level, free markets foster innovation and competition. An example is online marketplaces that operate under free market principles. Sellers are allowed to set their prices and buyers can compare options and make purchasing decisions based on their preferences or budget. In this situation both parties win and the one who's more innovative takes most of the bag(seller side).

The technology industry is also another example. Tech companies can create their own pricing, production methods, and business strategies. The basis with free markets is that any entity, big or small, is given the opportunity to meet consumer demands and provide value.

Believe it or not, free markets are one of the main contributors to economic prosperity. The internet is probably the biggest free market currently.

Making Money

Anyone can make money in a free market. One is only limited by their inability to innovate and beat competition. Granted, not everyone is well positioned to innovate. But I think anyone can provide value in their own unique ways.

At any point, there is a an unbalanced supply and demand. And all the money is made on the difference. With innovation, we're simply modifying the supply and demand to be favourable to us.

But that's not all, each innovation has the potential to also expand the market, giving us a bigger pie to work with.

So why it is in our best interest that prosperity spreads to many places? My answer is that we're better off when many people succeed because it reduces a lot of friction and we can do more overall. What's yours?


Thanks for reading!! Share your thoughts below on the comments.