Folks who believe the current political atmosphere is uniquely hateful have forgotten the boundless vitriol prevailing a few decades ago. During the George W. Bush administration, Republicans relied on push-button rage to suppress all criticism of the war on terror.

It seems that, for President Donald Trump, the key for economic growth is demand for goods and services. In this view, the greater the demand, the greater the supply is via production and consumer spending, and thus the greater the economic growth. Now, part of the demand for domestically-produced goods and services originates from overseas. The meeting of this demand is called exports. Additionally, local residents exercise demand for goods and services produced overseas, which are imports.

Craig Duddy, in his essay “Cracked Shells: Why Egg Prices Are High” (May 2, 2025), explains how prices rise when supply is constrained. This has occurred recently in the case of eggs as flocks of laying hens have been culled in order to curtail the spread of a deadly bird virus.

Consumers love choice, although many hate the idea of a free market. Consumers of all kinds love choice so much that live auction-style, buy-and-sell platforms have become the new free market spaces for many. Whether there is a free market resurgence or a small glimpse of it, platforms such as Whatnot, Property Room, Facebook Marketplace, Sotheby’s, and DealDash, to name a few are bringing free market concepts back into vogue.