Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, regularly invokes free enterprise, which he has called â??one of the greatest forces for good this world has ever known.â?
Representative Paul Ryan, Romneyâ??s recently announced running mate, uses the phrase even more frequently. In his very first speech as Romneyâ??s selection, he called for a return to the founding principles of â??liberty, freedom, free enterprise.â?
According to Romney and Ryan, this traditional, deeply American system is under assault. Free enterprise, according to Romney, is â??on trial.â? According to Ryan, it faces a â??dangerous moment.â?
In using this language, the two are part of a long tradition, one that helps explain how Americans have frequently mythologized the role of the â??free marketâ? and downplayed that of government in our dynamic economic system.
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