What is free enterprise? It is the system of values and laws that respects private property and limits government, encourages competition and industry, celebrates achievement based on merit, and creates individual opportunity. Under free enterprise, people can pursue their own ends, and they reap the rewards and consequences, positive and negative, of their own actions. Free enterprise requires trust in markets to produce the most desirable outcomes for society. It is the opposite of statism, which is the belief that government is generally the best, fairest, and most trustworthy entity to distribute resources and coordinate our economic lives.
– Dr. Arthur Brooks, former Economics Prof. (Syracuse), Chair of AEI, from his new book: The Road to Freedom: How to Win the Fight for Free Enterprise
(H/T: The Enterprise Blog)
