The Really (Really) Free Market Operates Under a Simple, Radical Philosophy

“I left with an Xbox, a printer, a vacuum cleaner, the nicest pottery I’ve ever owned, a U.S Army survival skills book, and a rainbow lava lamp.” But it wasn’t just about the stuff.

Mounds of clothing and toys, crafts and kitchenware, a library-worth of zines and books — even a clothing repair booth — filled the upstairs stage hall at St. Stephen’s Church in D.C. on the third Saturday of this month. It was Christmas for children and utopia for adults, for a simple and radical reason: all of the treasures were completely free.

The D.C. Really Really Free Market (RRFM) is organized by a few individuals affiliated with Black Lives Matter DC, Peace House DC, and Resist This. Unlike a sanitized shopping mall, friends and acquaintances organically formed circles to catch up, and strangers from all walks of life smiled at one another in recognition of the event’s novelty. People rummaged through a hodgepodge of items on tables throughout the room, commenting on what they discovered to one another, and expressing disbelief at the response to the usual question: “Where can I pay for this?”

Unlike a sanitized shopping mall, friends and…