[Phil153]

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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!

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pvn,

Do me a favor for a day. Next time you go to the supermarket, offer to pay less than the prices charged. Let me know what happens.

Prices are often determined by the market, and others have no say in it. That's why the terms "price taker" and "price maker" exist in economics.

The reality of life is that when significant numbers of people start living and trading together, a great deal of voluntary choice ceases to exist in practical terms. Very little of that has to do with the government IMO.