Free markets are not ideas, they are just a simple natural dynamic

My creaky old brain is now remembering marvelous discussions I used to have with aforesaid finance professor in college... concerning "free markets" vis-a-vis the philosophies of whether we live in "a world of plenty" or "a world of scarcity."

Free markets work beautifully under the worldview of plenty, because true meritocracies become possible. The guy who makes the best widgets gets to charge more; the guy who makes shitty widgets has to charge less. Participants have the freedom to pay a lot for a deluxe widget, and a little for a crappy one. Market forces work.

But it seems almost inevitable that some operators don't WANT a meritocracy; they don't WANT "plenty"... so they introduce the manipulation of "scarcity." Rather than striving to make the best widget, they instead sabotage their competitor, or burn their factory, or poison their crops. OR they seek to control the marketplace by creating "artificial" scarcity (think the Hunt brothers and silver). Even without government intervention, we now no longer have a "free" market; we have contrived scarcity.

Now, it could be argued that "people have the option to NOT buy those goods!" which is perhaps true until we get to "essentials," like certain medical procedures and drugs. "Here's your choice: Pay my price, or permanent disability. The clock is ticking." Fear is a powerful motivator. Just watch the crypto markets...

I used to be a socialist, too... and I love free markets. I know I would "do right" by a free market. My stumbling block always is the same, however: In a "no rules" free market, how to we handle the psychotic evil geniuses who care only to manipulate markets for gain, not to be "honorable" participants?