Market Economy: Private Property

Market economy
market economy is a type of economic system where supply and demand regulate the economy,
rather than government intervention. A true free market economy is an economy in which all
resources are owned by individuals. The decisions about the allocation of those resources are
made by individuals without government intervention. There are no completely "free-enterprise"
or market economies.
One of the most important characteristics of a market economy, also called a free enterprise
economy, is the role of a limited government. Most economic decisions are made by buyers and
sellers, not the government. A competitive market economy promotes the efficient use of its
resources. It is a self-regulating and self-adjusting economy. No significant economic role for
government is necessary.
PRIVATE PROPERTY
Labor resources, natural resources, capital resources (e.g., equipment and buildings), and the
goods and services produced in the economy are largely owned by private individuals and
private institutions rather than by government. This private ownership combined with the
freedom to negotiate legally binding contracts permits people, within very broad limits, to obtain
and use resources as they choose.
FREEDOM OF ENTERPRISE AND CHOICE

Private entrepreneurs are free to obtain and organize resources in the production of goods and
services and to sell them in markets of their choices. Consumers are at liberty to buy that
collection of goods and services that best satisfies their economic wants. Workers are free to seek
any jobs for which they are qualified.
MOTIVE OF SELF-INTEREST
The "Invisible Hand" that is the driving force in a market economy is each individual promoting
his or her self-interest. Consumers aim to get the greatest satisfaction from their budgets;
entrepreneurs try to achieve the highest profits for their firms; workers want the highest possible
wages and salaries; and owners of property resources attempt to get the highest possible prices
from the rent and sale of their resources.
COMPETITION
Economic rivalry means that buyers and sellers are free to enter or leave any market and that
there are buyers and sellers acting independently in the marketplace. It is competition, not
government regulation, that diffuses economic power and limits the potential abuse of that power
by one economic unit against another as each attempts to further its own self-interest.
SYSTEM OF MARKETS AND PRICES

Markets are the basic coordinating mechanisms in our type of economy, not central planning by
government. A market brings buyers and sellers of a particular good or service into contact with
one another. The preferences of sellers and buyers are registered on the supply and demand sides
of various markets, and the outcome of these choices is a system of product and resource prices.
These prices are guideposts on which participants in markets make and revise their free choices
in furthering their self-interests.
LIMITED GOVERNMENT
A competitive market economy promotes the efficient use of its resources. As a self-regulating
and self-adjusting economy, no significant economic role for government is necessary. However,
a number of limitations and undesirable outcomes associated with the market system result in an
active, but limited economic role for government.
Merits
Competition between different firms leads to increased efficiency, as firms do whatever

is necessary—including laying off workers—to lower their costs;
Most people work harder (the threat of losing one's job is a great motivator);
There is more innovation as firms look for new products to sell and cheaper ways to do
their work;
Foreign investment is attracted as word gets out about the new opportunities for earning
profit;
The size, power, and cost of the state bureaucracy is correspondingly reduced as various
activities that are usually associated with the public sector are taken over by private
enterprises;
Demerits
 Disparity in wealth and mobility exists in market economies because wealth tends to generate
wealth. In other words, it's easier for wealthy individuals to become wealthier than it is for the
poor to become wealthy.
 Environmental damage results with no government regulations because it's usually more
expensive to produce in an environmentally sound manner, which reduces profits.
 There tends to be a reduced social safety net, including such programs as unemployment
insurance, Social Security, and Medicare, because these programs are supported through
taxation.
 Poor working conditions can result due to a lack of government regulations because health and
safety cost money, thus reducing profits.
 Questionable priorities can result when the overriding decisions regarding production are profit-
motivated rather than serving the needs of the people in society.

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Market Economy: Private Property

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Market economy

FREEDOM OF ENTERPRISE AND CHOICE

SYSTEM OF MARKETS AND PRICES

Competition between different firms leads to increased efficiency, as firms do whatever

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