Question

Why are there no true market economies today?

Few economies allow private property or are profit driven.
Most economies have some level of government regulation.
Few economies allow consumers and producers to control the factors of production.
Most economies rely on the government to allocate resources and set production goals.

Answer 1

Short answer: because every modern economy is a mix of markets plus some government — a pure laissez-faire "true market" economy (no state role beyond enforcing contracts) doesn’t exist in practice. Markets do most of the allocation in almost every country, but governments provide public goods, correct market failures, stabilize the macroeconomy, enforce rules, and pursue social goals. Those roles make a purely unregulated market economy both impractical and politically unacceptable.

Quick comment on the four statements you listed
- "Few economies allow private property or are profit driven." — False. Most contemporary economies protect private property and operate with profit motives; that’s the core of market economies.
- "Most economies have some level of government regulation." — True. Nearly all countries regulate markets to varying degrees.
- "Few economies allow consumers and producers to control the factors of production." — Misleading. In most countries consumers and firms determine production through market choices, but governments sometimes own or regulate key sectors (energy, transport, health, land use).
- "Most economies rely on the government to allocate resources and set production goals." — False. Only a few command economies centrally allocate most resources (historically the USSR, today only a couple like North Korea to a large degree). Most countries use markets for allocation, with government intervention layered on.

Why pure market economies don’t exist — the main reasons
- Public goods: things like national defense, basic infrastructure, law enforcement, and a monetary system are non‑rival/non‑excludable or require central coordination. Private markets under‑provide them.
- Externalities: pollution, climate change, contagious disease, and other external costs or benefits lead markets to produce socially suboptimal outcomes unless corrected (taxes, regulation, subsidies).
- Natural monopolies and market power: some industries (utilities, rail, broadband in certain areas) are prone to monopoly; governments regulate or sometimes own them to protect consumers.
- Information problems and asymmetric information: healthcare, finance, used cars, and insurance markets can fail without regulation, disclosure rules, licensing, or safety nets.
- Redistribution and social welfare: democratic societies use tax and transfer policies to reduce poverty and inequality; pure market outcomes often create unacceptable distributional results.
- Macroeconomic stabilization: governments and central banks use fiscal and monetary policy to damp recessions and control inflation; pure laissez‑faire leaves economies vulnerable to deeper, longer downturns.
- Legal and institutional framework: markets rely on enforceable contracts, property rights, courts, regulation, and standard setting — all governmental or quasi‑public functions.
- Political economy and public preference: voters demand services, protections, labor standards, environmental rules and safety nets; governments respond, so policy is not purely market driven.
- Practical impossibility and transitional problems: completely removing the state creates coordination, enforcement, and transition challenges that are rarely politically or economically feasible.

Implication
Most real economies are "mixed" — market mechanisms allocate most goods and services, while government corrects failures, provides public goods, protects rights, and pursues social goals. Countries differ in how much they rely on markets versus state action, but none operate as a completely unregulated pure market in the modern world.