[MD] Capitalism and "the free market" was: (redux ad nauseum)

[craigerb at comcast.net]

[Stella]
> So, to start at the beginning; the free market as defined by Adam Smith in  
> 1776, was a place where all individuals had access. All individuals were  
> living in the small town where the market was, or in the close vicinity.  
> The central idea being that everybody had access to information about the  
> retailers, their goods and their moral behaviour. As a buyer, I could make  
> an informed decision.

Let's consider a modern case: eBay (nee Tradera).  It started like a newspaper's
 classified advertisements except that (a) it was on-line & (b) instead of fixed prices,
 it used an auction format.  eBay's developement is instructive for what it couldn't do
itself & what it could.
eBay depends on government (or private monopolies) to provide (i) stable currency
& currency interchangability, (ii) the internet & electric power infrastructure &
(iii) enforcement of fraud/theft laws.
What eBay did for itself:  (1) a payment system (PayPal), (2) an e-mail message system
between buyers & sellers, (3) a feedback system to rate buyers & sellers, (4) user
groups to provide improvements in eBay,  (5) an insurance system & (6) a fraud detection
system to exclude non-compliant members.
Has Smith's idea of a local free-market been updated to apply to the global village?
Craig