Generally, there are two fundamentally different ways of organizing an economy. Market and Command Economy.
A market economy is one in
which individuals and private firms make the major decisions about production
and consumption. In a market economy, decisions are made in markets, where
individuals and enterprises voluntarily agree to exchange goods and services,
usually through payments of money. A system of prices, of markets, of profits
and losses, of incentives and rewards determines the what (profits), the how
(costs) and the form whom (reward for inputs). [Laissez-faire economy]
A command economy is one in
which the government makes all important decisions about production and
distribution. In a command economy, the government owns most of the means of
production; it also owns and directs the operations of enterprises in most
industries; it is the employer of most workers and tells them how to do their
jobs; and it decides how the output of the society is to be divided among
different goods and services. In short, in a command economy, the government
answers the major economic questions through its ownership of resources and its
power to enforce decisions.
No contemporary society
falls completely into either of these extremes. Rather, all societies are mixed
economies, with elements of market and command economies.
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