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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 author’ s attitude toward "Most economists in the United States"(lines 1 - 2)can best be described as
选项 A、spiteful and envious.
B、scornful and denunciatory.
C、critical and condescending.
D、ambivalent but deferential.
E、uncertain but interested.
答案C
解析 作者对第一行所述的这些大多数经济学家的态度：据文章叙述，这些人迷恋自由市场，反对卖方定价，作者不同意他们的观点。但还是给予理性驳斥，而不是人身攻击。相反，A、B项就是人格侮辱；D、E不合作者态度，显非。A．怀恨的，忌妒的。B．蔑视而公开指责。C．正确。批评而屈尊地，对那些被认为下等、荒谬的人或观点给予平等的地位。D．模棱两可但尊重的。E．不确定但感兴趣。
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