There never has been nor will there ever been this thing called a "free market". The concept of free market is nothing more than globalization. Free market companies search the world for the cheapest labor and lowest bar with regards to labor and environmental regulation. We have seen than free as used in free market means free to do good and bad without any consequences. All a person need do is compare trade between the U.S. and other countries to see that free trade is nothing more than a fantasy.
The U.S. does not practice free trade - never has. What we have is a crony capitalist, kleptocratic, mercantile system.
Mind you that does not mean I am an unrepentant fan of Laissez Faire. However, it is preferable to socialism and communism. I would prefer a system that provides protection and incentives for true employee owned business, but the big boys do not want that. Psychotic control freaks are afraid of us commoners having freedom - both economic and political.
One thing Milton Friedman pointed out, in "Capitalism and Freedom", that I think is very true is that economic liberty is a prerequisite for political liberty.
"“Believe nothing merely because you have been told it. Do not believe what your teacher tells you merely out of respect for the teacher. But whatsoever, after due examination and analysis, you find to be kind, conducive to the good, the benefit, the welfare of all beings - that doctrine believe and cling to, and take it as your guide.” ~ Gautama Siddhartha — The Buddha
Bacteria that eventually makes milk 'go bad' is always in the milk.
The density of this bacteria is simply very low to begin, yet to be so predictable that a date can be stamped on the milk container at the time of packaging as to when it will go 'bad' because the geometric nature of growth.
Humans are less familiar with the process of collective and collaborative change, so it will be more difficult to pin down a 'date' as to when, however there is no doubt as to the "IF."
The only way you could have free trade/true capitalism would require elimination of one of the most important elements or an integral part of his economic philosophy - greed. He even wrote about this in Wealth of Nations. In other words a basic ingredient of his economic philosophy is also its weakness.
Herbert Stein writes that Smith "was not pure or doctrinaire about this idea. He viewed government intervention in the market with great skepticism ... yet he was prepared to accept or propose qualifications to that policy in the specific cases where he judged that their net effect would be beneficial and would not undermine the basically free character of the system. The Wealth of Nations could justify the Food and Drug Administration, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, mandatory employer health benefits, environmentalism, and "discriminatory taxation to deter improper or luxurious behavior".
Stein, Herbert (1994-04-06). "Board of Contributors: Remembering Adam Smith". The Wall Street Journal Asia.