In the words of Calvin Coolidge, The government can supply no substitute for enterprise.

Without free enterprise, the American Dream is diminished. The desire, drive, and willingness to create a life for ones self is gone. Free enterprise is a bit of hope that allows Americans to dream, and is the reason that so many people do. The United States of America is one of the most powerful and respected countries in the world. Although some believe that this success is accredited solely to our Founding Fathers and their Constitution, free enterprise and how it relates to democracy are two things that contribute immensely to this greatness. The United States government is a representative democracy, meaning the citizens rule the country. Also referred to as republics or indirect democracies, representative democracies feature a few officials representing a larger group of people. The citizens use majority rule to elect officials whose values reflect their own. Ever since the American and French Revolutions, various democracies have developed all around the world, although they originally began developing around 1525 (Democracy). Democracy and free enterprise both allow citizens much of the control. In addition to the use of a representative democracy, the United States uses a system of free enterprise. Free enterprise is a series of exchanges constantly taking place throughout our lives. If someone gave another person two dollars, and they in turn give them an ice cream cone, both people are participating in a free market. Both people engaged in the exchange agree to it because both believe that they will benefit from it. In many countries, the government gets involved with these trades, and the way that it gets involved can be determined by the countrys market. There are many different kinds of markets, including the free market, mixed market and socialist market. The Unites States has a mixed market, meaning the economy has many freedoms as well as limits to those freedoms (in order to protect the consumer.) In a free market,

alcohol, tobacco and other substances are allowed to be sold throughout the country to anyone, even minors. This is not ideal because these substances could be extremely harmful to the body. A word commonly used to describe the free market is laissez-faire, meaning noninterfering. In a socialist market, all trade is regulated by the government, eliminating supply and demand, as well as business competition (Carson). In a socialist economy there is usually public ownership, outsider control and less freedom. The United States stands for freedom, liberty, and natural rights, and free enterprise enforces this. With free enterprise in our mixed market, anyone can start a business and become an entrepreneur. It can encompass everything and everything that you could want to do with your life. For example, if someone wants to be a doctor they can! Anyone can accomplish this goal with the proper training and licensing, and they can perform your job without harming others. In a mixed market, private ownerships are emphasized and encouraged (Free Market). As a result, free enterprise and democracy in the United States go hand-in-hand, because each allows the other to perform to its full potential. When Democracy is paired with free enterprise, all aspects of the American Dream are made possible. With democracy and free enterprise in the United States, buyers and sellers control the market. Supply and demand and business competition are used in the United States economy to keep prices low and product quality high. For example, in a free market economy a monopoly could control a whole market. There could be a product that could only be bought from one company because they eliminated the competition. That lone company would be called a monopoly and could sell that product at a low quality for very high prices. In 1909 the Standard Oil Company was sued for sustaining a monopoly because they were controlling over ninety percent of the oil market. This company was required to break up into many separate and smaller companies (Whatever Happened to

Standard Oil?). In the United States monopolies are prohibited so that companies are always competing to have the most inexpensive and highest quality product available. In that way the government is protecting the consumers by limiting their rights (Remy 28). Although most organizations are run by citizens, some organizations like justice and education are government programs, to provide services for the people. There are limits to free enterprise, however. Americans have always believed that some services are better performed by public rather than private enterprises (World Trade and Small Business). The United States Government regulates free enterprise and provides these few limits to protect consumers. Democracy is like the harness that keeps free enterprise from falling down. The United States business and economic systems are often wrongly criticized for their logic and functionality, but in those arguments many things are not being considered. Just a few accusations include that free enterprise is hurting the poor, is driven by greed, and is unfair. According to The World Bank, in the past forty years the amount of people in the world living on less than a dollar a day has dropped by eighty percent, and is almost completely accredited to free enterprise. If free enterprise was hurting the poor, this would not be the case. Government workers on average make about twenty percent more than small business owners, so free enterprise is rarely driven by greed. Unless you believe that Americans dont earn their success, you must recognize that free enterprise makes our nation more fair (Five Myths About Free Enterprise). In conclusion, free enterprise contributes greatly to democracy, which helps improve our country. A mixed market economy is the most favorable variety because it reinforces the prominent foundation of limited government in the United States. Free enterprise helps democracy work to its greatest potential, and allows all citizens access to the American Dream:

the hope and possibility for anything the heart desires to be achieved. Free enterprise and democracy together create a perfect equilibrium between freedom and limits to that freedom. Anything can be done according to ones rights, but one must not use those rights to violate others rights (Kukathas). The United States chose to use a mixed market because we value freedom but also safety. This is a country where laws rule in limiting the government, and the very basis of the government is freedom with limits in order to protect others. Free enterprise and democracy mirror and reinforce each other, and make this country a better place to live.

Works Cited Carson, Thomas. Free Enterprise. (1999) Web. 6 Nov. 2013. Democracy. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 2006. Web. Five Myths About Free Enterprise. Values&Capitalism. n.p. Web. 1 Aug. 2012. Free Market. The Library of Economics and Liberty. 2008. Web. 6 Nov. 2013. Kukathas, Uma. Issues on Trial: Personal Liberty. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2009. Print. Remy, Richard. United States Government: Democracy in Action. New York: McGraw Hill, Glencoe, 2008. Print. Whatever Happened to Standard Oil?. us-highways.com. 2004. Web. 11 Dec. 2013. World Trade and Small Business. Freeenterprise.com. 2013. Web. 6 Nov. 2013.