You have to give equal opportunity but not equal results. That’s why capitalism is actually about equality (of course due to faulty governments the equality of opportunity is not always there). But, asking for everyone to get the same results despite different wishes and work put in it’s denying the fact that we are all different and want different things. Take Medium. Imagine if we all got the same money. Just cause. It doesn’t matter if you write 100 articles a month or 2. That would make people get comfortable and write the least amount possible, because there’s no need to put better work out, if at the end you’ll get the same results.
Now, take Medium as it is now. Some people are killing themselves working hard every month, sharing on all Facebook groups, asking for feedback, networking, writting every single day, and as such, they’ll get more money. Because money, and profits, is a sign of the work you are putting in and of the amount of value you are creating.
You put the example of phones, how much money goes into marketing, and research to make better phones. To compete with the competition for the money of the customer. Well, the customer will only put it’s money in a phone if it thinks the phone will add value to his life. No amount of marketing will save a company for producing a bad product.
Of course, what we are seeing now with hoarding is a special case. But socialism wouldnt have solved it. In fact, thanks to the free market more and more companies are going out of their way to produce those products that are scarce now in order to keep their cutsomers happy and alive. And funnily enough most companies are donating the stuff they are producing in order for the customer to remember this brand or this other for the next time they want to spend their hard earn dollars.
Additionally and the last point I’ll make. Free market gives the equilibrium to capitalism that you so much speak of. Demand and offer create a price equilibrium. Of course, this equilibrium normally gets screwed over by goverments trying to be more socialists.
What do you propose as a solution? That the goverment decide how much money or food each gets? How would this guarantee better products for all of us and freedom of choice?

I would really like to discuss this topic further because I think it’s very important to talk about these things without making us ‘enemies’ or making them taboo topics.

Thank you for sharing, and if you got till here, thank you for reading!