Well, price caps are against the principles of the free market. So, on an ideological level it doesn’t make sense.

Any ideology hardly ever works as it is, so changes need to be adapted to make the ideology work. Capitalism is very much tied to western electoral “democracy”. The idea in capitalism is that the economy works as a separate entity from government. This simpy is not true since it is the legislation that allows for capitalism to function in the first place.

The so called " free market" has never been free. When there is a crisis, governments give aid to capitalists, which is againts capitalistic principles. Capitalism would not function without governmental intervention and would collapse. The price caps are simply just a another tool to preserve capitalism.

Price caps can also be a way to limit profits made by capitalists. Basic necessities like water, food and electricity should have price caps in a way, that profit cannot be made.

But at the end of the day, price caps are a tool to preserve capitalism, not to change economical status quo.