Being free is one thing. Having money to pursue happiness is another. In a sense we can measure how much freedom we have by the amount of money we have.
America’s unique economy was built on the novel idea of an open economy that provided private prosperity, i.e. capitalism while foreign economies were centrally controlled by dictators and royal families. In the 19th century, socialism began to replace the dynasties, while American capitalism made it the world’s first super power. Yet the lure of security at the loss of liberty gradually transformed our constitutional republic into a more and more socialist democracy once politicians learned that they could buy votes with borrowed money.