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A mixed economy is an economy that contains both private and public, or state owned (or controlled) enterprises. According to the American Heritage Dictionary , a mixed economy is defined as: An economic system that allows for the simultaneous operation of publicly and privately owned enterprises. There is not one single definition for a mixed economy , but relevant aspects include; a degree of private Economic Freedom (including privately owned industry) intermingled with Centralized Economic Planning (which may include intervention for Environmentalism and Social Justice , or State Ownership of some of Means Of Production ). For some countries, there is not a consensus on whether they are capitalist, socialist, or mixed economies. Economies in countries ranging from the United States to Cuba have been termed mixed economies. PHILOSOPHY by the state, including significant regulations (e.g. wage or price controls), taxes, tariffs, and state-directed investment.]] A mixed economy contains private ownership of the means of production, Infrastructure , and institutions but may also contain state-ownership of some of these things. It allows for private financial decisions by businesses and individuals, but not absolute nor near absolute autonomy, as many of these decisions are otherwise overridden by government. The term ''mixed economy'' was coined to identify economic systems which stray from the ideals of either capitalism or various command economies and "mix" with elements of each other. As most political-economic Ideologies are defined in an idealized sense, what is described rarely if ever exists in practice. Most would not consider it unreasonable to label an economy that, while not being a perfect representation, very closely resembles an ideal by applying the rubric that denominates that ideal. However, when a system in question diverges to a significant extent from an idealized Economic Model or Ideology , the task of identifying it can become problematic. Hence, the term "mixed economy" was coined. As it is unlikely that an economy will contain a perfectly even mix, mixed economies are usually noted as being skewed either toward capitalism or Statism in varying degrees. Objection to the term Ludwig Von Mises argues, in ''Human Action'', that there is no such thing as a ''mixed economy''. He says "the Market Economy or capitalism, as it is usually called, and the socialist economy preclude one another. There is no mixture of the two systems possible or thinkable; there is no such thing as a mixed economy, a system that would be in part capitalist and in part socialist." He reasons that even state-owned enterprises are subject to market forces; government may tax citizens to subsidize losses but those taxes exert a market force. He says that state ownership of the ''some'' of the means of production "is a step on the way toward socialism, but not in itself socialism." As long as there are no price or wage controls, he considers an economy to be a market economy. systems by mixed economy governments. For example, in the U.S., the USPS enjoys a Government Monopoly on some first-class mail as described in the Private Express Statutes .]] Which economies are mixed? There is not a consensus on which economies are capitalist, socialist, or mixed. For example, while many would call the economy in the U.S. capitalist, others call it mixed. For example, according to economic and business historian ) never has existed, but governmental authority over economic activity has sharply increased since the eighteenth century, and especially since the Great Depression...Today the United States, once the citadel of capitalism, is a "mixed economy" in which government bestows favors and imposes restrictions with no clear or consistent principle in mind." {Link without Title} run by the National Health Service in the United Kingdom is an example of heavy state involvement in Health Care in a mixed economy.]] ELEMENTS OF A MIXED ECONOMY The elements of a mixed economy typically include a variety of Freedom s:
with tax-funded, Subsidized , or state-owned services and infrastructure:
and providing some autonomy over personal finances but including involuntary spending and investments such as Transfer Payments and other cash benefits such as:
and restricted by various laws, regulations:
and Tax es and fees written or enforced with manipulation of the Economy in mind. RELATION TO FORM OF GOVERNMENT While Government s with harsh restrictions on economic and civil liberties can choose to begin a process to implement a mixed economy, many believe that it cannot be long sustained without causing that government to also implement more and more of the elements of a Liberal Democracy (or, conversely, that implementing liberal democractic reforms inevitably leads to liberalization of the economy). For example, "the mainstream view holds that China’s WTO entry and the opening of its media system to foreign owners will inevitably undermine the CCP’s authoritarian control and facilitate press freedom." {Link without Title} The economic freedoms that are a necessary part the Capitalist portion of a mixed economy are part of a continuum of freedoms, ranging from those that require no governance to those that require very substantial governance in regard to (for example) establishing rule of law that protects private property and free markets (the details are beyond the scope of this article). Many say that economic freedoms are themselves important defining elements of a Liberal Democracy . {Link without Title} The western Democracies implemented elements of Capitalism and Democracy over the last 300 years or so and perhaps are an example of this. While the future of China is anyone's guess, many think China can not long follow the economic path the western Democracies took without also, perhaps in spite of itself, implementing - over time, incrementally - the elements of Liberal Democracy . U.S. Secretary Of State Condoleezza Rice was quoted by the '' New York Times '' as saying on March 19, 2005 in Tokyo , " China's leaders look around them in Asia, they will see that freedom works....They will see that freedom of religion and respect for human rights are part of the foundation of decent and successful societies". [http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/21/international/asia/21rice.html?] SEE ALSO Note:Quotes in this section indicate content taken from the article in question.
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