Ian Murray asks:
"Oooh oooh oooh what's the etymology of black markets?"
My dictionary defines a "black market" as
"1. The illegal business of buying or selling goods or currency in violation of restrictions such as price controls or rationing. 2. A place where these illegal operations are carried on."
It defines the "black economy" to be
"A sizeable hidden segment of a country's economy that operates on numerous unreported cash transactions"
So what we're really talking about, I guess, is the black economy rather than the "black market" as such. What the etymology is, I don't care.
Comrade Ian writes:
"And who gets to define what a criminal is?"
Well, I guess the people who make the laws, enforce the laws, are made citizens or subjects by the laws, agree to be bound by the laws - people like that do. Is there a point you're getting at?