The Secondary Economy

The previous chapter surveyed key features of the U.S. economy. In the following chapters, the focus will be on large corporations. In this chapter, attention is drawn to the effects of economic freedom on lesser players in the economy. Specifically, two groups are examined, one each on the production and consumption sides. What these seemingly unrelated groups have in common is that they are both positioned on the lowest rung of the ladder in their particular sector. On the production side are small firms, particularly entrepreneurs, who epitomize the opportunities and benefits of economic freedom available to individuals. Entrepreneurs are an integral part of business folklore—prime examples of the quest for the American dream. In addition they are of interest because often they operate in a competitive environment resembling a free market, more so than their large counterparts. The secondary tier on the consumption side has received far less attention. Here the focus is on individual consumers who are particularly disadvantaged and therefore labeled secondary consumers. Secondary consumer status is also an outcome of economic freedom except that the freedom in question turns out to be not so much that of consumers’ freedom to purchase but firms’ freedom to profit. The findings suggest that entrepreneurial endeavors accord with the idea of individual economic freedom and its opportunities, although there are misconceptions, whereas secondary consumers represent some of the harsher outcomes of economic freedom.