Many nations now place their faith in capitalism and governments choose it as the strategy to create wealth for their people. The spectacular economic growth seen in Brazil, China and India after the liberalisation of their economies is proof of its enormous potential and success. However, the global banking crisis and the economic recession have left many bewildered. The debates tend to focus on free market operations and forces, their efficiency and their ability for self correction. Issues of justice, Integrity and honesty are rarely elaborated to highlight the failure of the global banking system. The apologists of the system continue to justify the success of capitalism and argue that the recent crisis was a blip. Their arguments betray an ideological bias with the assumptions that an unregulated market is fair and competent, and that the exercise of private greed will be in the larger public interest. Few recognize the bidirectional relationship between capitalism and greed; that each reinforces the other. Surely, a more honest conceptualisation of the conflicts of interest among the rich and powerful players who have benefited from the system, their biases and ideology is needed; the focus on the wealth. creation should also highlight the resultant gross inequity. The apologists of the "Free Market System", according to the passage, believe in

The passage states, "Their arguments betray an ideological bias with the assumptions that an unregulated market is fair and competent, and that the exercise of private greed will be in the larger public interest." Let's analyze the options: A) market without control by government authorities: The term "unregulated market" directly implies a market that operates without control or intervention from government authorities. This aligns perfectly with the passage's description of the apologists' assumptions. B) market without protection by the government: "Unregulated" refers to the absence of rules and controls, not necessarily the absence of protection. Even free markets might rely on government for basic protections like property rights or contract enforcement. This option misinterprets "unregulated". C) ability of market to self correct: The passage mentions, "The debates tend to focus on free market operations and forces, their efficiency and their ability for self correction." While apologists of the free market system would likely believe in self-correction, the passage explicitly attributes their "ideological bias" to the assumption of an "unregulated market" being fair and competent. Option A is a more direct and explicit statement of their core assumption as presented in the text. The ability to self-correct is a characteristic often attributed to an unregulated market, but the passage highlights the *unregulated nature* itself as their assumption. D) market for free goods and services: This option refers to goods and services that are available at no cost, which is not the subject of the passage or the beliefs of free market apologists. Therefore, option A is the most accurate and direct interpretation of the apologists' beliefs as described in the passage, specifically their assumption of an "unregulated market." The final answer is A