Capitalist Markets Aren’t “Free.” They’re Planned for Profit.
Neoliberalism was never about shrinking the state to unfetter markets and enhance human freedom. In her new book, Vulture Capitalism, Grace Blakeley argues that neoliberalism has always sought to wield state power to maximize profits for the rich.
@jlou yeah, states create the hierarchy of bosses they need to "regulate" (rule) the economy effectively and at least somewhat efficiently. they still allow a small slither of entrepreneurship to not be a complete centrally planned disaster. but the entrepreneurs quickly become privileged cronies protected from competition by most people.
much of this is not even intentional, it's just the result of states trying to preserve and secure their power.
Following some recommendations on @solarpunk I picked up “The Dispossessed” by Ursula Le Guin, and I found it right up my alley. I went through it as fast as I could, unable to put it aside for long. There were a few aspects which I did not need (the Terran connection in particular messed with my suspension of disbelief), but overall I found it a very good start to dive into reading fiction again.
"A ... feature of ... #capitalist societies is the tendency of the market to take over the production ... of goods that were previously produced, maintained, and distributed by nonmarket means. Yet, there is a wide range of disagreement regarding the proper extent of the market in providing ... goods."