Edited sentence: A free-market approximating the laissez-faire ideal cannot be maintained, ironically, without significant state intervention.Either free-market proponents must propose a strong legal and regulatory framework to create and maintain efficient and honest free-markets, or by supporting deregulation they are in effect promoting an increasingly corrupt and inefficient "unfree market" system.Only in the context of ubiquitous state regulation of products and associations, and with non-market sanctions against selfish actors, can a "free" market operate to the greatest mutual benefit.Otherwise in practice the unequal market power and self-interest of different actors leads to the formation of cartels and oligopolies and production of dangerous or adulterated products, which are beneficial for the corrupt participants but damaging for the majority.Thus there is a contradiction between the promoted policies and the putative aim of the laissez-faire approach, which calls for deregulation ("freedom of economy") with the actual effect of creating oligopolies and destroying the real basis of the free market -  a level playing field of buyers and sellers.Unregulated markets such as the illegal drug trade have high rates of adulteration, cartels and violence between market actors, with fatal results.Without large unions to enable equal bargaining powers of employers and employees fair wages and conditions cannot be agreed, and without laws enforcing minimum levels of quality and labeling the purchaser has much less knowledge of the product than the seller and a fair trade cannot be made