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.