a capitalist economy producers and consumers make countless individual decisions that together add up to the bigger economic picture. No central authority dictates what goods and services companies produce or sets prices for those goods and services. Instead, the competing forces of sellers (supply) and buyers (demand) result in prices that ultimately dictate what will be produced, how it will be produced and distributed, and who will enjoy the fruits of this production and distribution.

In theUnited Statesmore than in most countries, people tend to believe that the economy should be shaped by the competing interests of individual businesses and consumers, rather than by government decrees and plans. It is true that governments at the local, state, and national levels in theUnited Statesintervene in economic affairs less than their counterparts in many other countries, but they nevertheless play an important role in, and have the power to monumentally alter, the national economy.