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Originally Posted by !@#$%!
nah-ah. rules are properties of social groups. yes you might need a government to enforce them or you might not but all groups have rules, whether stated or implicit..
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Markets dont have rules, they have natural principles based on cause and effect relationships but any rule is artificial. After all, markets are inanimate, rules are human creation which govern human behavior. We agree to them and they regulate the market, but they are never natural to the market, as indeed if they were inherent or natural to markets there would be no need to regulate as markets would be naturally self regulated and yet every era of laissez faire policies have resulted in failed economies and human exploitation. Humans invent and enforce "the rules" to protect their interests, and while these rules must take into consideration the natural market principles they themselves are artificial not natural. They are of course a good thing but aren't natural.
Lets explore land tenure.. humans develop and enforce land tenure rules to protect their accesss to natural resources. The inherent rules of the market are that resources are scarce and fragile, the rules are developed around this natural principle to artificially protect land resource from exploitation. Proof is in the pudding, where there are less rigid artificial regulatios there is deforestation and pollution even when these are contrary to the natural market principles that the resources are scarce and fragile. Regulation takes this into consideration and artificially protects the resource.
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people who associate in a market have rules too. e.g., i can't get stuff without paying. or, if i buy your food you're not allowed to lace it with poison. or, if i go to a farmer's market in my area i do it knowing that they will accept dollars and not pesos. one vendor goes here, anothe vendor goes here, they don't invade each other's space. you sell what you say you're selling, i don't pay with counterfeit money. those are rules, otherwise the market makes no sense.
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Currency is issued and regulated by government. It is not some inherent or natural principle of that market, it is an artificial rule created to make the market more efficient. Even the concept of a farmer's market is result of artifical regulation, in medieval and even ancient history the designated "market place" was created to regulate and enforce trade.. collect taxes.. and also benefit the merchants as a whole by artificially controlling competition who would otherwise set up shop down the road like Lucy and Ethel selling meat out the stroller.