Read the following passage carefully and choose the most appropriate answer to the question out of the four alternatives. <br />Most economists in the United States seem captivated by the spell of the free market. Consequently, nothing seems good or normal that does notaccord with the requirements of the free market. A price that is determined by the seller or, for that matter (for that matter: so far as that isconcerned), established by anyone other than the aggregate of consumers seems pernicious. Accordingly, it requires a major act of will to thinkof price-fixing (the determination of prices by the seller) as both "normal" and having a valuable economic function. In fact, price-fixing is normalin all industrialized societies because the industrial system itself provides, as an effortless consequence of its own development, the price-fixingthat it requires. Modern industrial planning requires and rewards great size. Hence, a comparatively small number of large firms will be competingfor the same group of consumers. That each large firm will act with consideration of its own needs and thus avoid selling its products for morethan its competitors charge is commonly recognized by advocates of free-market economic theories. But each large firm will also act with fullconsideration of the needs that it has in common with the other large firms competing for the same customers. A major act of will will bring about price-fixing that will be seen as -

Correct Answer: normal and having valuable economic function