Markets coordinate millions of decisions through prices, competition and contracts. But markets do not operate in a vacuum. Property rights, courts, accounting standards, competition rules and consumer protections create the framework within which exchange occurs.
Poorly designed rules can distort incentives, while weak enforcement can allow dominant firms or fraud to undermine competition. Good institutions do not eliminate markets; they make markets more trustworthy.
The debate is therefore not simply markets versus government. The more useful question is which rules allow voluntary exchange to produce broad and sustainable benefits.