I can’t help it—I’m in a very freedom-loving mood today. As I contemplate the things I’m grateful for, I have to say, I’m grateful for free enterprise.
When I was fifteen, I had the adventure of a lifetime. I was able to travel with several American teenagers over to Russia to meet up with Russian teenagers and take a cruise up the Volga River. While on the cruise ship, we attended classes on free enterprise, things that were pretty common to us, but completely mind-blowing for the Russian teens.
Up until that point, they were used to paying whatever price was asked, and all the merchants had to comply with those prices. There was no such thing as healthy competition, and the merchants could only make as much per sale as they were told they could make. For these teens, the concept of choice was new and exciting. They expressed over and over again how amazing it would be if a free market economy were possible in Russia. Two weeks after I got home, we saw news of a coup that had taken place in Moscow. Does this sound familiar? Yep—this all took place in 1991.
Now Russia has more ability to participate in a free market economy, but it doesn’t function like ours yet, and maybe never will. An entire existence under Communism can’t be wiped away so quickly, but it’s amazing to me that they now have the chance to change and to figure things out.
In our country, free enterprise is something we don’t think about much, unless we’re in business. We go to a store, and we see the sticker price. “I can get that cheaper across the street,” we say to our spouse, and we head across the street and buy it there. We don’t often consider that our ability to do so is a blessing – we take it for granted, but it’s a freedom we have in this country. The storekeepers are free to determine their own prices. We have the freedom to choose where to shop. It’s a beautiful thing.
I hope, while we’re tallying our blessings and expressing thanks for our freedoms, that we take a minute to feel gratitude for free enterprise. It makes our country what it is, and without it … well, look at how Russia has had to function for centuries.
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