• A person who uses goods or services.

•An individual who engages in commercial activity for personal, family or household purposes.

• A person who buys or purchases items

An economic system in which the means of production and distribution are privately or corporately owned and development is proportionate to the accumulation and reinvestment of profits gained in a free market.

Decision are taken by the producer. No control of government. Main objective is to earn profit.

In free market economics, consumers dictate what goods are produced and are generally considered the center of economic activity.

The consumer is always at an advantage when there is competition because competition means choice

1. POVERTY AND DESTITUTOIN AMID WEALTH.

2. INSECURITY AND THE FEAR OF UNEMPLOYMENT.

3. WARS4. DESTRUCTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT5. FORCING PEOPLE TO WORK LONG

HOURS AS WAGE SLAVES.6. LACK OF TRUE DEMOCRACY.

Cont…1. Corruption: Absolute self interest is manifested as corruption. 2. Scams: Cases like Enron, WorldCom that happened because the CEOs

deliberately declared profits where they were making losses to raise share value, their own pays, raise funds from stock market and dupe investors.

3. Extreme divide between rich and poor: The gap between rich and poor is not because the poor are less hard working or giving any lesser contribution to GDP.The rich are rich because they are able to leverage the efforts of poor and multiply their leverage by using their clout. For example, soldiers, farmers, teachers and workers are as a whole poorer than business persons. Does it mean that they are making any less contribution in society?

4. But market forces are least bothered about environment.5. Market forces may allow monopoly.6. Free Market forces will justify sale of drugs and alcohol to minors. 7. By market forces we may justify human trafficking, 8. One may even justify human slavery. 9. People could start selling their daughters for money like they do for

cattle. Why not? After all, they have given birth to, and groomed and bred their children so they should have the absolute right to buy and sell them as property. Any situation where there is demand and supply can be justified to exist in an absolute free market economy.

10. Free market forces will allow the rule of money. Those who have money will buy the law. Money becomes the law of the land.

The Right to Safety The Right to be informed The Right to Choose The Right to be heard The Right to Redress The Right to Consumer Education The Right to a healthy environment and The Right to Satisfaction of basic needs

John F. Kennedy had equated the rights of the ordinary American consumer with national interest. He gave the American consumer four basic rights: 

The Right to Safety - The Right to Choose - to be assured, wherever possible, access to a variety of products and services at competitive prices: and in those industries where competition is not workable and Government regulation is substituted, an assurance of satisfactory quality and service at fair prices.

The Right to Information - to be protected against fraudulent, deceitful or grossly misleading information, advertising, labeling, or other practices, and to be given the facts s/he needs to make an informed choice.

The Right to be Heard - to be assured that consumer interests will receive full and sympathetic consideration in the formulation of Government policy, and fair and expeditious treatment in its administrative tribunals.

The prices in an economy are said to be dictated by the consumers

• Is the price of commodities and services determined by the consumers?

• Does the consumer have significant control over the prices of good they purchase through their ‘purchasing power’?

The rational of all economic activity is the satisfaction of the consumer’s wants

The real wants of the consumers go unsatisfied under capitalism , only those wants can be satisfied which are expressed in money.

The satisfaction of the consumer depend on the goods actually available . It indicates the physical limitation too .

High pressure salesmanship & persistent advertisement modify the real desires of the consumers.

The consumers are induced to buy something from what they would have purchased otherwise .

The businessman enjoys the success who is able to direct the consumer’s tastes towards his particular rand.

consumer’s own habits kind him and he is reluctant to make any departure from his set scales of preferences the freedom to choose therefore is not exercised.

Environments & conventions of society also exercises a restraining influence on the consumer’s choice . Therefore, the unrestricted freedom of the consumer is a mere myth .

Lack of knowledge is another hindrance in the way of exercise of the consumer’s sovereignty . The consumer are generally ignorant & do not know what is best for them.

Production of standardized goods irrespective of the individual tastes is a conclusive proof that the modern economics system pays scant attention to the consumer’s wishes.