The American economy is, if nothing else, a land of enormous choices, with a multitude of options that would be the envy of any medieval monarch. Abundance in many ways defines America, and is even a source of national pride. In the movie Moscow on the Hudson, a Soviet defector played by Robin Williams experiences a mental breakdown at a grocery store when confronted by the small army of coffee brands staring back at him from the shelves.
Consumer choice is more than a just a luxury or national privilege; it is a moral equation, the sum reward of an ethic that champions victory over human need. As individuals, the power of choice unites us as one of the few things that nobody willingly forfeits, and this includes the social critics who belittle America as a land of empty materialism. Today, even the poorest among us is empowered in the marketplace, with choices on how and where to spend their money. And this emphasizes a striking point central to all debates on economic policy, because how an economic system treats the less fortunate among us is its most potent test.
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