"Free markets can't be created by the government, as they're the product of countless voluntary human interactions," Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) tweets. "To the extent they remain free, free markets elevate the human condition & alleviate poverty more than any government ever could. Naturally, Marxists despise them."
Free markets can’t be created by the government, as they’re the product of countless voluntary human interactions
— Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) July 20, 2025
To the extent they remain free, free markets elevate the human condition & alleviate poverty more than any government ever could
Naturally, Marxists despise them https://t.co/eBnpLKsSZX
Sen. Lee gets at the core of the freedom apple in that tweet. The freedom of free markets to sustain themselves cannot be disturbed by government.
The government cannot create free markets because the government creates neither demand nor the will to meet demand. Those intangible aspects of a free market (demand for products and services, along with the market-driven means to meet such demand) are the product of those countless voluntary human interactions, of which Lee tweets. Perhaps a societal need sparks demand. Let us use plowing, for example. For many years, plows were pulled by animals with humans guiding them with a steadying hold. Then the advent of tractors and tillers changed the process by which soil is broken up. Take televisions. Once introduced, demand arose for television sets. Then demand continued and expanded for television products as newer and higher quality televisions have come to the market. Through countless voluntary interactions, consumer needs and wants are met by the products of free markets.
The government cannot meet economic demand for two reasons. One, the government does not create demand; it does not decide what people need and want. Two, the government does not have the capability of meeting demand; the functions of our government do not include manufacturing, selling, distributing, or marketing goods and services on a wide and market-based scale to consumers.
Sen. Mike Lee's point that free markets "elevate the human condition" and "alleviate poverty more than any government ever could" is profoundly important. The self-driven motivation to create and innovate far supersedes the motivation of meeting the demands and requirements of a government. Some products do not work. Some services become unnecessary. Meanwhile, others are born to market and thrive. That distinguishes free markets from command-and-control. If government mandates a product line, that product line is what consumers will have.
With the blessing of a free market must also come a warning. Apathy and laziness, a lack of proper vigilance about freedom or taking whatever the government gives, lead to destruction. Free markets cannot survive when there is no drive or motivation to sustain them. The grassroots private sector economic engine that boosted this nation to where it sits today remains the elevator of the human condition and the necessary medicine for alleviating poverty.
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