The market as mise-en-scène

Economic freedom is predominantly seen as a purely 'negative' phenomenon: something that thrives by, or is even equivalent to, government absence. 'Free markets', 'free enterprise' and 'liberalisation' all seem to derive their freedom from government non-intervention. Yet, real markets of flesh and blood need the presence of the environment, infrastructure and countless rules to function - there, government plays a crucial role. In the book Vrijheid voor gevorderden (Boom, 2016), this 'positive' view on economic freedom is developed, based on the classic distinction Isaiah Berlin made between negative and positive liberty. Adding the positive view to the traditional negative view of economic freedom gives us a more complete image of the market: a constructed, accommodated space where economic agents are not left, but made free to buy, sell, enter and exit.