The United States Already Has a Mixed Economy. We Just Pretend It Doesn’t

The United States functions through a blend of markets and public systems, yet political debate still treats capitalism and socialism as mutually exclusive choices. Private firms set wages and prices, but government guarantees deposits, subsidizes mortgages, regulates pollution, and steps in when financial collapse looms. The country already operates through a mixed framework, even as its arguments assume one must be rejected in favor of the other.