The Land of the Free

Although I've only experienced the past quarter-century of this country, I still prefer to think of it as a nation of liberty. In that sense, I wish I could say its economy is a free market – because of the values that founded it.

Only in a free market can you really get out what you put in. That is the American dream and why so many millions of people have come here. However, the dream doesn't just 'happen' to those who expect to enter the country and passively receive it – it is there for anyone willing to work for it.

The degree to which you are rewarded for your efforts matches the degree to which your efforts are valuable to others. No more, no less. That, in turn, encourages individuals to make optimal use of their time, ultimately producing the most of what people want and the least of what people do not want.

It also allows individuals to choose what to do with their most valuable resource: time. When we choose a job, we choose what will reward us the most for our skills, efforts, and time. If I'm good with numbers, I might choose to research the next digit of pi, or to be an investment securities analyst. Which do you think would reward me more for my ability – and why?

The choices do not end there. Every day, I can choose to work or not work. If I work, I also have the choice of whether to work hard or coast through the day. Ultimately, though, my employer chooses how much my effort is worth to the company. If I'm often absent or not as productive as other employees are, I can expect to be paid less, or lose my job.

On the other hand, if I'm committed to being a valuable employee – which may also mean investing time to learn and improve my skills – then I'll be paid more. Even if I don't get a raise at my company, I'll be worth more to other companies.

Pay is the incentive to work hard, but more importantly, to use my time wisely producing a service others value.

A free market does not allow coercion. If you don't like the way your employer treats you, you have a choice: deal with it, or find a new job. If you don't like the way a company does business, you can choose: support the company, or refuse its products or services. If enough people refuse them, they must then make a choice: change, or go out of business.

I admire the free market because it is the only fair and moral economic system – each individual deals by choice and earns his rewards. (The added benefit of minimizing inefficiency and producing the highest overall standard of living is an incidental bonus.)

That stands in stark contrast to the system our country increasingly heads toward – in which individuals are coerced by the government and must vote for his rewards. In that system, the competition is not over who can produce the most value, but over who can win the favor of elected officials.

In other words, we're willingly giving up the benefits of free choice and the American dream for a standard that punishes productivity and rewards ineptitude: 'from each according to his ability; to each according to his need.'