The Future of Free Enterprise: Can it Survive Government Interventionism?

Abstract

Free enterprise is the indispensable prerequisite for personal freedom, which I dare believe is still highly valued by most people. Hence, it is also the only economic system which is compatible with the democratic governments of Europe and America. However, the vitality of free enterprise is being threatened by government interventionism on both sides of the Atlantic. In Europe, this manifests itself in taxation, nationalization, restrictive policies, subsidization, labor laws, and the growth of the public sector. In America, we find much of the same, excepting nationalization. In order to restore vigor to the weakened private sector, we must return to traditional economic liberalism, while fostering free trade between the United States and Europe.