[pvn]

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My objection is quite simple: prices determined on the "free market" are no more inherently good or fair or right than rights being determined in the "free market" of democracy.

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Of course they are.

Prices are NOT "determined" by the market. They're determined by two people who want to trade. Nobody is REQUIRED to trade with you only at "the market price" - otherwise there would never be any change in prices!

Prices are the result of voluntary transactions.

When "rights" are "determined" in a democracy, that's it. They're laid out and if you don't like it, tough. you have no negotiation power.

"rights" in this sense are the result of imposed, coercive transactions (for a significant number of people).

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It's not about free ponies, it's closer to not having ponies at the price I want, and closer yet to my possibly not having enough money to buy ponies even though I need them for my farm because people somewhere else in the world have a lot of money and like ponies and are willing to pay a lot for them.

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Are you entitled to ponies? At arbitrary price X?

If you are, then other people must be, too - unless you think you're in some morally superior pony-deserving class of people.

If everyone is then entitled to all the ponies they want at price X, what happens when the number of ponies demanded at that fixed price is more than the number of ponies available?

Ponies at the price you arbitrarily set as the price you "should" pay are great, until there aren't any.

Which is "more fair"?

A) Gas at $1/gallon (the price I want), with constant lines at gas stations, rationing, total unavailability for indefinite periods

B) Gas at $3/gallon, no lines, no shortages, no problems, in and out of the gas station in five minutes every time.

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And the end summary is that some measure of economic isolationism on a local scale can be beneficiary.

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Perhaps. Feel free to "locally isolate" yourself as much as you like.