What is the economic system of the United States?

Why this is the answer

The United States has a capitalist economy, also described as a market economy or free market economy. In this system most businesses are privately owned, and competition and profit motivate them. People are free to start a business and try to make money, and the government does not control the economy. USCIS describes how the decisions get made. Businesses choose what to produce, how much to make and what to charge. Consumers choose what to buy, when and where. Prices can be negotiated in the marketplace, and competition, supply and demand shape the choices on both sides. No central plan tells a bakery how many loaves to bake or a family which car to buy. The 2025 study guide introduces the term in an unexpected place, the section on the Great Depression, the worst economic period in the country's history. Banks and businesses closed, many people could not get a job, and many lost their homes and their money. Placing the definition there makes a fair point: the question asks how the economy is organized, and a market economy can still go through very hard times. This is one of the 20 asterisk questions, so it appears on the shorter study list for applicants who are 65 or older and have been permanent residents for 20 years or more. Two answers are accepted, "capitalism" and "free market economy," and either is fine. Be precise with the second one. The official wording includes the word "free," so say the full phrase rather than a loose description like "business" or "the stock market." The answers to avoid are the names of other economic systems, such as communism or socialism, and a planned economy, which is the opposite of a market where businesses and buyers make the decisions. Both answers describe the same scene: privately owned businesses competing for customers in an open market.