Fixed price v. flex price.
What is immediately apparent to business people seems to be missed completely by conventional economists, most of whom have no experience in the business world where actual prices are set. Just as they erroneously think that the market sets the interest rate rather than the central bank in a modern economy; so too, they think that price discovery happens in markets based on matching bids and offers. This is rather puzzling, since even most of those with no business experience must do a least some shopping and see that prices are set by management rather than the open to negotiation. Why would firms compete rigorously with each other without receiving bids instead of setting the offer at a fixed price in the market.
It can be explained away by "price elasticity" and "stickiness," but when I studied Samuelson half a century ago, it seemed quirky to me at the time — like there is the general law of supply and demand but it doesn't always work the way it is supposed to. WTF!
Social Democracy For The 21St Century: A Post Keynesian Perspective
Lee’s Post Keynesian Price Theory: Chapter 1
Lord Keynes
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