We've become accustomed to economists and politicians talking about "market forces" as if they are immutable laws of the universe. But what exactly is "the market"? Originally an abstract idea from economic theory--the locus of supply and demand--it has come to inform the way we speak about our relationship to the economic system as a whole.

Matt Watson unpacks the concept to ask what does it really mean to allow ourselves to submit to market forces. And does economic theory really provide insights into the market institutions that shape our everyday life? In tackling these questions, the...

We've become accustomed to economists and politicians talking about "market forces" as if they are immutable laws of the universe. But what exactly is "the market"? Originally an abstract idea from economic theory--the locus of supply and demand--it has come to inform the way we speak about our relationship to the economic system as a whole.

Matt Watson unpacks the concept to ask what does it really mean to allow ourselves to submit to market forces. And does economic theory really provide insights into the market institutions that shape our everyday life? In tackling these questions, the...