Socialist industry also works within a framework of controlled prices. In the early 1970’s， the Soviet Union began to give firms and industries some of the flexibility in adjusting prices that a more informal evolution has accorded the capitalist system. Economists in the United States have hailed the change as a return to the free market. But Soviet firms are no more subject to prices established by a free market over which they exercise little influence than are capitalist firms; rather， Soviet firms have been given the power to fix prices.
1. The primary purpose of the passage is to
（A） refute the theory that the free market plays a useful role in the development of industrialized societies
（B） suggest methods by which economists and members of the government of the United States can recognize and combat price-fixing by large firms
（C） show that in industrialized societies price-fixing and the operation of the free market are not only compatible but also mutually beneficial
（D） explain the various ways in which industrialized societies can fix prices in order to stabilize the free market
（E） argue that price-fixing， in one form or another， is an inevitable part of and benefit to the economy of any industrialized society 2. The passage provides information that would answer which of the following questions about price-fixing？
I. What are some of the ways in which prices can be fixed？
II. For what products is price-fixing likely to be more profitable that the operation of the free market？
III. Is price-fixing more common in socialist industrialized societies or in non-socialist industrialized societies？
（A） I only
（B） III only
（C） I and II only
（D） II and III only
（E） I， II， and III