Market Rules

Private Property
People need to know what they will gain from their work and exchanges. Without this predictability incentives will be severely undermined. So property rights need to be clearly defined and protected.

Common Property
Some things are not created by individual work or exchanges. For example, nature is a common heritage for all people and for future generations. Social infrastructure is jointly created. Individuals should not be able to just appropriate this common property as their private property and prevent others from using it. It should be jointly owned and managed on behalf of all of us.

Product Information
People need to know what they are buying. Products should be properly described including the environmental, social, and health impacts of using the product. We need to be protected from false information and fraud.

Product Alternatives
For the conjecture and refutation logic of the market system to work, people need to have alternative products to choose from. This requires protection from monopoly and may require the government to provide alternatives that the market is not providing when a product is essential. An example would be affordable health insurance.

Resource Sustainability
The market can cause overconsumption and depletion of natural resources and damage the environment that we all depend on. So these resources need to be used in a sustainable way. Incentives for efficient use and reduced use of resources should be added through resource use taxes, cap and trade regimes, tax credits, and consumer choices based on accurate product information.

Redistribution
The market can be somewhat random in its impact on individuals. In order to preserve the benefits of the market system, there needs to be enough redistribution to assure that everyone has access to the basics of life and an opportunity to adjust to new market conditions. This should be financed through taxes on people and firms to the extent that they use common property and benefit from the maintenance of the market system.

Freedom
We should have the maximum freedom consistent with the same freedom for all. This includes the freedom to start businesses, choose employment, and freely trade with others. For free markets to survive and to be a source of freedom and not ultimately result in less freedom, we need rules like those outlined here. A market is not a force of nature. It is a social creation.