1. SOC 311
Economics
American Free Enterprise System Essay Unit 3 Assignment
Think of the interesting technological inventions you have witnessed in your lifetime. Could you
imagine life without your cell phone or iPod®? Whereas some of these inventions make a direct,
positive effect on your life, there are countless inventions you have never heard of. After reading
all the ideas and inventions people put in a free market economy, it is time for you to weigh in on
what you have learned!
Directions: Complete a 350- to 500-word persuasive essay, supporting or disapproving the
ability of the American free enterprise system to allow any product or service to be provided. Use
facts from this unit or outside sources to help persuade the reader. To reach your verdict and
persuade others, make sure you clearly define what the American free enterprise system is and
how it functions. What role does the United States government play in the system? Explain how
consumers and producers determine the use of resources in other countries’ economic systems.
Make sure you use any similarities or differences to persuade your readers.
With a persuasive essay, a great introduction is key! You want to provide a catchy story or phrase
that jumps out at the reader to keep them interested in your essay. Remember, you are trying to
persuade your readers to have the same opinion as you.
In the middle portion, make sure you describe why the reader should share the same viewpoint
as you. Using effective comparing and contrasting information is an excellent way to get your
points across!
Just as the introduction is crucial to bringing your readers in, the conclusion is as important in
closing up any doubts readers might have before they are done with your essay. Make sure you
remind them of the most important points you discussed, so they are fresh on readers’ minds
when they complete the essay.
Guidelines: As with any writing assignment, correct spelling and grammar are important. Make
sure you proofread your work and use spell-check on your computer.
Steps for Completing Assignment
1. Provide an introduction to the American free enterprise system.
a. Define the American free enterprise system.
b. List two advantages and disadvantages of the system.
2. State your opinion, supporting or disapproving the ability of the American free enterprise
system to allow any product or service to be provided.
3. Support your opinion with facts and examples you’ve read in the textbook.
a. Define free enterprise.
b. Explain how this system works to allow or not allow any product or service.
c. Explain the government’s role in the free enterprise system. Does the
involvement affect your argument? With the government’s involvement, can the
free enterprise system allow or not allow any product or service to be provided?
4. Close up with a conclusion to persuade your reader.
2. The United States has a capitalist economic system. A capitalist system is also known as a free
enterprise system. Free enterprise system is another name for capitalism, an economic system
based on private ownership of productive resources. It allows anyone to start a business or
enterprise.
This has plenty of advantages and disadvantages. A couple of the advantages are economic and
political freedom and profit. Economic and political freedom is one of the chief advantages, as it
allows individuals be free to make their own economic choices. Plus individuals are also free to
develop their interests and talents in work they find satisfying. Now profit motive, it insures that
resources will be allocated efficiently, since inefficiencies would result in lower profits. It also
serves as a reward for hard work and innovation. Knowing you can earn more money if you
come up with a good idea is an incentive to do so. This encourages competition, which in turns
leads to higher-quality products at lower prices.
Now some disadvantages are it cannot provide security to those who because of sickness or age
cannot be economically productive. Nor can it prevent the unequal distribution of wealth, even
though that gap may be the result of unequal opportunities.
I believe the free enterprise system allows any product or service to be provided. The free
enterprise system allows anyone to start a business or enterprise if they want to. It works
because of the legal equality, a situation in which everyone has the same economic rights under
the law. In other words, everyone has the same legal right to succeed or fail in the marketplace.
Another important element of it is free contract. For voluntary exchange to work people must
be able to decide for themselves which legal agreements they want to enter into such as
business, jobs or purchase commitments. For most people it is the profit that motives the
people and organizations to improve their material well-being by seeking to gain from economic
activities. Producers are motivated by profit to seek the highest possible price for their products.
Competition offsets the drive to earn profits, since it forces prices down.
A great example of how the various economic freedoms and profit motive come together in the
free enterprise system is the pet rock. In April 1975, Gary Dahl jokes that regular pets were too
much trouble, and came up with pet rocks which are much easier to care fore. Dahl’s friends
were amused by the idea, in response Dahl later started to sell them. By the end of the year
Dahl had sold more than two tons of pet rocks and had become a millionaire. But later on
consumers lost interest and it became just a fad.
Now the government is an important element in the American free enterprise system, but its
role is relatively limited. The government does a few of the following; protections, provisions,
and regulations to adjust the free enterprise system. The government is both a consumer and a
produce. The government is a consumer by spending money in exchange for products. The
government is a producer by providing goods and services to both households and businesses.
Government collects money from households and businesses, in the form of taxes, as payment
for these goods and services. It covers the cost of what is produce with this money. Government
also uses this money to make purchases in the resource and product markets and the cycle
continues.
With the government’s involvement, it still allows for the free enterprise system to allow any
product or service to be provided. Think of the government has security if the economy gets
bad, because if there is a market failure the government steps in and provides public goods.
Public goods are funded with taxes collected by the government.
Over all the free enterprise system allows anyone to make a product or service to be provided.
Plus with the government’s involvement it is like a back up plan if there is a market failure. As
the pet rocks shows us that if you are creative enough you can sell just about anything, thanks
to the free enterprise system.
