Two conclusions excerpted from a long article by Jared Brock Mega-Landlords Busted for Using AI Algorithms to Price-Fix the Rental Market, on April 10, 2024.
I believe his observations apply to aspects of the cooperative system especially mergers of sound credit unions* now being presented to member-owners.
“First: The free market is a myth.
“The idea that the world would somehow be better off if there were zero rules protecting the masses from predatory investors is not only deluded and insane, but it’s unfathomably dangerous. A rules-free-market is a black market where the worst actors win.
“Capitalism is all about incentives, and investors have twisted the economy to incentivize extraction and exploitation.
“Second: The modern rules-free-market isn’t what the father of capitalism Adam Smith meant when he said “the free market.”
“He meant a market free from parasites.”
* See Credit Union Times article of April 15, 2024, Five Illinois Credit Unions Announce Proposed Plans to Merge