The free enterprise system in the United States is defined by four key characteristics:

• Individual freedom
• Limited role of government
• Competition
• Profit motive

Describe the U.S. free enterprise system that includes the following questions:

1. Describe each of the four characteristics listed.
2. Explain the three roles that the government has in this system, while providing an example of each.
3. Respond to the following prompt: Which of the four characteristics is most important to the success of the U.S. economy, and why? And, which of the three roles of government is the most powerful, and why?