Markets have been around since the earliest days of human civilization, having existed in ancient Babylonia, Assyria, Phoenicia, Israel, Greece, Egypt and elsewhere. Some towns had market days while cities often had permanent marketplaces. Many cities still have markets like the ancient bazaars: dense alleys crowded with merchants often grouped by what they sell: fish sellers here, clothing sellers there. The ancient world also had extensive networks of trade: the Silk Road from China to the Middle East, Phoenician traders sailing the Mediterranean, caravans across the Sahara.

Over time markets in many places became more regulated with charters and standardization of weights and measures and coinage allowing for easier comparison shopping and confidence.

We all have a pretty good idea of what constitutes a marketplace: a physical, or more recently virtual, trading venue where sellers offer goods and services and buyers shop for these goods and services.

What makes a market a “free market”?  The market has to be open to all sellers and buyers, these sellers and buyers have to be free to decide what they want to make, and finally the sellers and buyers have to be free to decide at what price they will buy and sell any particular item.

It is important to note that the definition of a free market doesn’t just require that there be a free marketplace: it is not just trade that has to be free, but also the decision of what to produce and buy in the first place.

Governments can help facilitate free trade and markets through regulations such as the ones already noted which include a standard, well-regulated currency, standardized weights and measures, and many others such as requiring accurate labeling of products.