But free markets are inadequate or fail altogether in the allocation of public goods, in addressing systemic and catastrophic risks and economic externalities.
We humans are subject to hyperbolic discounting, not taking full account of long distant future costs for current pleasures, sometimes those running the public health system really do know more than us, there are externalities associated with these behaviours (late night drunks, passive smoking and the visual pollution of someone 300 lbs overweight perhaps).
But free markets are inadequate or fail altogether in allocating public goods efficiently and effectively, in addressing systemic and catastrophic risks, and in dealing with economic externalities.