Yes, and why did people ask for these oversized networks? That’s right, because addresses were free.
I haven’t thought enough to say whether it makes sense for specific cases like IP address allocation, though.
If I can use my money to vote for "give me more money" at a profit, and I have no qualms about doing so, then I win – and if we play multiple such games with the same money, then we end up with a situation that's worse than "let anyone commandeer the resource".