link to original reddit post by /u/TheGrapestShowman
I was driving down the road the other day and noticed a string of buildings, which were all offering some free thing.
As we all know, there is no free lunch. So, when a company advertises something is free, it may be free for consumption, but not for production. I saw everything from free phones to free vacuum cleaners. It got me thinking, relative to socialism, how much better is a market system at providing cost-free consumer products?
I propose that, as a market system grows and the overall standard of living of the average person increases, antiquated or simple technology becomes an expectation of society, which incentivizes companies to provide those things at no cost or a lower cost than would be acceptable by the market.
Where in a market system a company might have to bend to the will of the market, a command economy has no such obligation, making its reaction and general function significantly more rigid.
Ice, napkins, water, and the vacuum are the examples that come to mind right now. Mcdonald's subsidizes a portion of the cost of happy meals.