Market Economy: Brief History, Features, How It Works

The free market describes an economic system where people voluntarily trade with one another in their own self-interest. A purely free market has little to no government intervention or regulation, and individuals and companies are free to trade as they please.

The market economy has existed in various forms ever since human beings began trading with one another. Free markets emerged as a natural process of social coordination, not unlike language. No single intellectual invented voluntary exchange or private property rights; it likely emerged as the natural outcome of human behavior.

Where Did the Free Market Come From?

Even without money, human beings engaged in trade with one another. Evidence of this stretches back far further than written history. Trade was informal initially, but economic participants eventually realized that a monetary medium of exchange would help facilitate these beneficial transactions.

The oldest known media of exchange were agricultural goods—such as grain or cattle—likely as far back as 9000 to 6000 B.C. It wasn't until around 1000 B.C. that metallic coins were minted in China and Mesopotamia and became the first known example of a good that functioned only as money.

While there is evidence of banking systems in early Mesopotamia and ancient Rome, the concept wouldn't emerge again until the 15th century in Europe. This did not occur without significant resistance; the church initially condemned usury. Slowly thereafter, merchants and wealthy explorers began to change the notions of business and entrepreneurship.

Pillars of the Market Economy

There are two pillars of the market economy: voluntary exchange and private property. It is possible for trade to occur without one or the other, but that wouldn't be a market economy—it would be a centralized one.

Private property has existed long before written history, but important intellectual arguments in favor of a private system of ownership of the means of production would not be made until John Locke in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Free Markets vs. Capitalism

It is important to distinguish free markets from capitalism. Capitalism is an organizational system of how goods are created—where business owners and investors (capitalists) assemble productive resources in a centralized entity, such as a company or corporation.

These business owners own all of the tools, machinery, and other resources used in production, and keep the majority of the profits. In turn, they hire employees as labor in return for salaries or wages. Labor does not own any of the tools, raw materials, finished products, or profits—they only work for a wage.

On the other hand, a free market describes how the laws of supply and demand will be affected by the decisions of economic actors. A free market may describe the behavior of consumers in industrial capitalism, but it can also refer to the interactions between traders in preagricultural societies.

Historical Resistance to Market Forces

Many historical advances in free-market practices have been opposed by existing elites. For instance, the market tendency toward specialization and division of labor ran counter to the existing caste system in feudal Europe among the aristocracy.

Mass production and factory work were similarly challenged by politically connected guildsmen. Technological change was famously attacked by the Luddites between 1811 and 1817. Karl Marx believed that the state should take away all private ownership of the means of production.

Central authority and government planning have stood as the primary challengers to the market economy throughout history. In contemporary language, this is often presented as socialism versus capitalism. While technical distinctions can be drawn between common interpretations of these words and their actual meanings, they represent the modern manifestations of the conflict between voluntary markets and government control.

Most contemporary economists agree that the market economy is more productive and operates more efficiently than centrally planned economies. Even so, there is still considerable debate as to the correct degree of government intervention in economic affairs.