[rameumptom]

But in a true laissez-faire free market, if one company chose to sell their product at a very high price, out of the reach of most people, you would soon see other companies providing a similar product for a much cheaper price.

This is exactly how we see it in the free markets, even with regulation getting in the way. Apple creates the IPod, IPhone, IPad, and gives them a premium price. Many purchase them, but they are out of the price range for many more. So you soon see other companies fill in at the lower rungs of the price range, selling MP3 players, Android cell phones and tablets for less. In fact, today, Amazon is bringing out a $250 tablet called the Kindle Fire.

If we didn't have all the long term government patent and copyright protections we now have, which allow some to last for decades, if not centuries, then we could see even more competition. Those drugs would drop quickly in price if a patent were to last only 3-5 years instead. And, like aspirin, would be plentiful.