Adam Smith, John Stewart Mill, and all of the classical economists of the 19th century defined a "free market" as being free from the rentier class "economic rent" and the landlords, from monopolists, and from banks and credit. The idea was that everyone would earn what they produce and that would be a fair economy.

That clearly is not what we have today, and never really did. Neoclassical economists define a "free market" exactly the opposite, and that is what we have today. The rentier class (oligarchs) own and run governments, oligopolies and monopolies are everywhere and control every major industry in almost every country, and the American economy and society is built on consumerism and credit, offered from the banks, and even some companies to help people to buy their goods and services. This is due to the fact that most don't earn enough in wages to buy the goods and services they want outright. I wrote briefly about this and included an excerpt from "The Wealth and Nations" as well as a video that is more in depth about corporations at this link. Check it out if you're interested. https://steemit.com/economics/@tgheretic/how-corporations-subvert-free-markets