Yes but ultimately they are answerable to an (often) diverse set of interests, which push them towards a maximum. State owned enterprises ala the USSR were answerable to far fewer interested parties.
A curious perspective; fear of options. Emotion over logic.
A free market would be something like a farmers market where producers sell directly to consumers. Instead, the US stock market is more like a cartel where there is a central group of intermediaries, which control money moves between producers (companies) and buyers (small/medium investors).
No, a free market is when people are free to make transactions with whoever they please. Big companies are just as free market as mom & pops.
Not really. A company that's big enough to be (even a regional) monopoly forces people to transact with them by virtue of being the only game in town. The question is whether this is a continuous gradient from "more free" to "less free" or more similar to a step function when a company reaches monopoly status.
Your local supermarket may be the only one in your village, but the next village is easily attainable. Something being more convenient doesn't make it a monopoly.
I grew up in the Air Force. My mom would always shop at the base PX because it was cheaper, and sometimes it was a 30 minute drive away, passing store after store to get there. To make the drive worthwhile, she'd buy 2 weeks worth of groceries at a time.
In Seattle, there are some neighborhoods without stores, but that is usually because the stores cannot handle the shoplifting anymore, and quit. It's still not far to another store outside those neighborhoods.
You can even buy food from Amazon from your Lazy-Boy. Push a button, and food appears on your porch.
If you have a really hard time finding food where you live, may I suggest:
Happy new year to you!
P.S. I buy some food items from Amazon that, including shipping, are cheaper than what the local grocery store prices them at. Isn't American competition great?
Aren't you? I find that businesses like my money.
What stocks in the market are you prevented from buying?
https://www.sec.gov/education/capitalraising/building-blocks...