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  3. Most economists in the United States seem captivated by the spell of the free market. Consequently, nothing seems good or normal

Most economists in the United States seem captivated by the spell of the free market. Consequently, nothing seems good or normal

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问题     Most economists in the United States seem captivated by the spell of the free market. Consequently, nothing seems good or normal that does not ac- cord with the requirements of the free market. A price that is determined by the seller or, for that matter, established by anyone other than the aggregate of consumers seems pernicious. Ac- cordingly, it requires a major act of will to think of price-fixing(the determination of prices by the seller)as both "normal" and having a valuable economic function. In fact, price-fixing is nor- mal in all industrialized societies because the industrial system itself provides, as an effortless consequence of its own development, the price-fixing that it requires. Modern industrial planning re- quires and rewards great size. Hence, a comparatively small number of large firms will be competing for the same group of consumers. That each large firm will act with consideration of its own needs and thus avoid selling its products for more than its competitors charge is commonly recognized by advocates of free-market economic theories. But each large firm will also act with full consideration of the needs that it has in common with the other large firms competing for the same customers. Each large firm will thus avoid significant price-cutting, because price-cutting would be prejudicial to the common interest in a stable demand for products. Most economists do not see price-fixing when it occurs because they expect it to be brought about by a number of explic- it agreements among large firms; it is not.
    Moreover, those economists who argue that allowing the free market to operate without interference is the most efficient method of establishing prices have not considered the economies of non-socialist countries other than the United States. These economies employ intentional price-fixing, usually in an overt fashion. Formal price-fixing by cartel and informal price-fixing by agreements covering the members of an industry are commonplace. Were there something peculiarly efficient about the free market and inefficient about price-fixing, the countries that have avoided the first and used the second would have suffered drastically in their economic development. There is no indication that they have.
    Socialist industry also works within a framework of controlled prices. In the early 1970’s, the Soviet Union began to give firms and industries some of the flexibility in adjusting prices that a more informal evolution has accorded the capitalist system. Economists in the United States have hailed the change as a return to the free market. But Soviet firms are no more subject to prices established by a free market over which they exercise little influence than are capitalist firms; rather, Soviet firms have been given the power to fix prices.
The primary purpose of the passage is to
选项 A、refute the theory that the free market plays a useful role in the development of industrialized societies.
B、suggest methods by which economists and members of the government of the United States can recognize and combat price-fixing by large firms.
C、show that in industrialized societies price-fixing and the operation of the free market are not only compatible but also mutually beneficial.
D、explain the various ways in which industrialized societies can fix prices in order to stabilize the free market.
E、argue that price-fixing, in one form or another, is an inevitable part of and benefit to the economy of any industrialized society.
答案E
解析 本文主要目的(主题题型)：A．驳斥自由市场在工业社会发展中起了作用的观点。本文重点是在说定价问题，没有讨论自由市场是否有益。B．建议能使美经济学家和政府成员认识到并反对大企业进行卖方定价的方法。与作者态度相反。C．卖方定价和完全由市场定价两种方法不只能共存，还互相受益。无。D．介绍多种稳定市场，控制物价的方法。文中没有指出“various ways”。E．论证卖方定价是不可避免的，而且对工业化社会有益。正确。见原文L14—19作者的陈述。这是作者态度的表述，后面的内容都是在说明、解释本句。
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