The document outlines the key characteristics of a free market economy in the United States, including freedom of enterprise and choice for producers and consumers, competition among businesses, equal opportunity, binding contracts, property rights, the profit motive, and a limited role for government. It discusses how Adam Smith's concept of the invisible hand posited that individuals pursuing their own self-interest can unintentionally promote the greater public interest through market competition. The document also provides context on the rise of capitalism in the late 1800s and early response from Karl Marx.