> the unfree market is just as ugly and just as stupid, except there's nothing in the mall

Quite true. When my dad was working in Tito's Yugoslavia the restaurants all had Central Office printed menus featuring about 50 appetising dishes. Strange coincidence was that there were only ever three items actually on sale at the time of asking. Whereever you went in the country!

On the other hand it's true they weren't allowed to play Slaughter Your Neighbour, which I guess is the reductio ad absurdum of the free market... :)

oh, and btw tsuwm, thanks for the lovely heading which has me chuckling on sight... but no thanks for the earworm, as I now have that song by Alan Price (set to the hymn tune) rattling endlessly through what passes for my mind!