What's Free about Free Markets?

There has been nearly 30 years of "free market" ascendancy. But a global polling organization, World Public Opinion, has put out a report showing that the support for free markets is waning in the wake of scandals and failed markets:

The report notes that supports of free market strongly recognize that successful "free" markets require strong regulation to help them work effectively:

Interestingly, supporters of the free market show more enthusiasm for a strongly regulated free market system than critics. Among those who agree that the free market system is the best system, three-quarters also agree that it works best with strong government regulation.

Those who are not enthusiastic about the free market system are divided as to whether it works best with government regulation. ...

Interestingly, three countries that in 2005 were among the four highest in support for the free market system--China, the Philippines, and South Korea--showed substantial increases in agreement with the idea that the market works best with regulation.

It is interesting that Canada comes out near the top on both support for free markets and regulation (at least in comparison to the US):

It is a bit surprising to see countries like Mexico, Italy, China, and the Phillipines come out so strongly for regulation. I wonder if it shows a trust of centralized government, or a distrust of free markets. (I would argue that in Canada it shows a trust of centralized government along with the realization that unregulated free markets tend to be chaotic. The Americans obviously are more accepting of chaotic markets, or at least this poll would suggest that.)