A Mixed Economy: the United States System

The economic system of the United States is principally privately owned. This system
is often referred to as the "free enterprise system" and can be contrasted to a socialist economy, which depends heavily on government planning and on public ownership of the means of production. It should be noted that although the United States operates a system of private enterprise, government has to some extent always been involved in regulating and guiding the American economy. yet despite this history of government intervention, individuals in the United States have always been able to choose for whom whey will work and what they will buy. Most important, they vote for officials who will set economic policy.

Traditionally, the system has been referred to as a "market economy". Now decisions are made by three groups and it is their dynamic interaction that makes the economy function. Consumers, producers and government makes the economy function. Consumers, producers and government make economic decisions on a daily basis, the primary force being between producers and consumers; hence the market economy designation.

Consumers look for the best values for what they spend while producers seek the best price and profit for what they have to sell. Government, at the federal, state, and local level, seeks to promote the public security, assure fair competition, and provide a range of services believed to be better performed by public rather than private enterprises. Some of these public services include education, the postal(but not the telephone)service, the road system, social statistical reporting and, of course, national defense.

In the United Staes most people are simultaneously consumers and producers; they are also voters who help influence the decisions of the government. The mixture among consumers, producers and government change constantly, making a dynamic rather than a static economy. In the last decade consumers have made their concern known and government has responded by creating agencies to protect consumer interests and promote the general public welfare. In another development, the population and the labor force have moved dramatically from farms to cities, from the fields to the factories, and above all to service industries, thus providing more personal and public services. In today's economy these providers of services far outnumber producers of agricultural and manufactured goods.

Generally, there are three kinds of businesses: (1) those started and managed persnally by single owners or single entrepreneurs; (2) the partnership where two or more people share the risks and rewards of a business, and (3) the corporation where shareholders as owners can buy and sell their shares at any time on the open market. This latter structure, by far the most important, permits the amassing of large sums of money by combining investment of many people, making possible large-scale enterprises.

混合经济： 美国的经济制度

美国的经济制度主要是私有制经济，常常被称为“自由企业制度”，与社会主义经济形成对照。社会主义经济在很大程度上依赖于政府计划和生产资料公有制。应当指出的是，虽然美国实行的是私人企业制度，然而政府在某种程度上一向参与调控指导美国的经济。尽管政府历来干预经济，但是在美国人人都能选择为谁工作、买什么东西。最重要的是，他们投票选举制订经济政策的官员。

传统上，这种制度一直被称为“市场经济”。在市场经济中，作出决策的是三部分人，正是这三者之间的互动关系才使经济得以运转。消费者，生产者和政府每天都作出经济决策，而主要动力则来自生产者和消费者之间，因而就有了“市场经济”这个名称。

消费者花钱买东西，总想得到最大的价值；而生产者则想从所卖出的产品上获得最高的价钱和利润。联邦，州和地方各级政府要做的是增强公众的安全感，确保公平竞争，并提供一系列服务，相信这些服务性事业由公有企业来办要比私人企业来办更好，其中包括教育、邮政（不包括电话）、道路系统、社会统计报告，当然还有国防。

在美国，大多数人既是消费者，同时又是生产者，而且还是能对政府施加影响的选民。消费者、生产者和政府三者的混合经常发生变化，因而产生的是动态经济而不是静态经济。在过去十年里，消费者公开表明了他们所关心的种种问题，而政府则据此设立了各种机构来保护消费者的利益，改善公共福利事业。出现的另一种新情况是，人口和劳动力大量从农村迁移到城市，从农田进入工厂，尤其是进入服务行业，从而为个人和公众提供了更多的服务。在当今的经济中，服务行业的从业人员大大超过农业和制造业的生产者。

一般说来，企业分为三种：（一）个体业主和个体企业家开办经营的企业；（二）两人或两人以上共同承担风险、分享赢利的合伙企业；（三）股份公司，股东作为公司拥有人任何时候者可以在公开市场上买卖公司股票。最后的那一种企业最为重要，因为股份公司可以把许多人的投资筹集到一起聚成巨额资金，从而得以开办大型企业。

posted on 2007-07-24 05:42 小昭 阅读(305) 评论(0)  编辑  收藏 所属分类: 中级翻译 网摘收藏