Although later investigations of risk, uncertainty, and information flow will add important details to our view of the free market, we can already recognize some of its guiding principles. The market's pricing system serves to allocate production toward the efficient satisfaction of consumer wants. At the same time, it takes into account the value scales of workers (as reflected in the varying disutilities of different kinds of labor), the time preferences of all participants, and psychic preferences that may not always conform to the monetary "bottom line." Moreover, all contractual relationships are based on benefit to all participants. In one sense, the benefits of such relationships are universal, for no individual is compelled to sacrifice his or her own values in any market exchange or agreement.

It is not asserted here that all individuals can maximize their subjective utility in the free market (or in any other system). Certainly, a system based on purely peaceful action is likely to frustrate the desires of those who seek power over others—including not only the sadist, but also the puritan, whom H. L. Mencken defined as a person possessed by "the haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy." (The sadist's and puritan's feelings do not, of course, represent objective value, and whether any consideration ought to be granted to them is an ethical issue, properly addressed elsewhere in this course.) The free market's benefits are universal only in the following sense: activities must be regarded as beneficial by all participants and all directly affected parties.