How can profit arise in a free market economy if every factor of production is paid what it is worth to customers? According to Investopedia, “The factors of production are land, labor, entrepreneurship, and capital. These inputs are needed for the creation of goods and services.” What it is worth to customers is the value of the item. According to Harvard Business Review, “Value in business markets is the worth in monetary terms of the technical, economic, service, and social benefits a customer company receives in exchange for the price it pays for a market offering.” In a free market economy the seller gets to make the prices. Different items have different prices depending on their value. If all the prices were the same, then profit couldn’t go up. Things need to be sold at what their worth to make a higher profit. Sometimes they can be sold for more, but that is risky. the government doesn’t understand this and so tries to make businesses sell things at similar prices. Some businesses go out of business because of this.