Great expectations.

• Author: Sullum, Jacob

In a recent panel discussion of privacy issues, I outlined how contracts can help people control the use of information about themselves. A credit-card applicant, for example, can seek assurances of confidentiality from his bank, which would then extract similar promises from the credit bureaus it deals with.

During the question-and-answer period, a member of the audience scoffed at the idea that his bank would ever agree to such conditions. I responded that banks would supply privacy protection if there was enough demand for it, since that added feature would help attract business. But I agreed that a bank is unlikely to change its policy for the sake of one customer. In that case, he would be free to decline the credit card. He did not, however, have an a priori right to a credit card on his own terms.

After the session, an observer complained that my answer was too negative. I should have emphasized market solutions more. I should have suggested ways that like-minded credit-card applicants could organize and thereby increase their clout as consumers, perhaps offering to pay a somewhat higher fee or interest rate in exchange for a privacy guarantee.

Maybe this critic was right. But his reaction illustrates a problem that free-market advocates face whenever they address consumer issues. If they emphasize that you can't always get what you want, they may be accused of taking a negative approach. But if they emphasize the wondrous bounty of the market, they may encourage unreasonable expectations. When the market is supposed to solve all problems, every unmet desire becomes a "market failure"--and an excuse for state intervention.

According to a recent New York Times/CBS News poll, Americans want a high-quality health-care system that costs less, covers more, and excludes no one. The market cannot provide that. Nor can the government, but it's going to try. This is the predictable result of unreasonable expectations, coupled with loose talk about "a right to health care."

Such talk is not limited to vital goods and services. Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.)...