I can't think of an example of a totally free market.

But on this...

I think there is a large fraction of the population of the human race that is hindered biologically with a cap on critical thinking skills. I'm sure this must be studied, but it's probably not popular to discuss because it's not polite to call dumb people dumb, for the same reason you shouldn't call fat people fat. It's not their fault. It's just biology. I think democracy prevails as the least shitty of a list of shitty coordination tools, despite this swath of intellectually stunted people. People just have different strengths and weaknesses embedded in their DNA.

So I don't think "more knowledge" will actually help.

It is easy to see what I mean in an app/social-network called Nextdoor. The algorithm gives you content based primarily on your physical proximity to other people. And if you look at that feed, and kindof people-watch, you'll see patterns of people struggling with critical thinking. Lack of critical thinking, is the common denominator of the patterns you'll see. Examples include people who jump to believe one-sided stories as presented, where the OP is clearly/likely exaggerating or leaving out information for sympathy. People warning people of scams, but not understanding the scam or leaving out important information for the warning to be effective. Then, there are people posting complete drivel; that somehow get replies - and neither can contextualize the entire thread so they both talk past each other. Tangentially, and routinely, you'll see people get confused between making top-level posts, replying to a thread, or sending a DM; they'll post replies or DMs as top level posts, then go AWOL when people laugh at them in the comment section. I live in a neighborhood with houses that cost above the national average. I'm not sure if there is link between these observations, but, seems relevant.