America

It is an enormous simplification to speak of the American mind. Every American has his own mind. It is absurd to ascribe any achievements and virtues or any misdeeds and vices of individual Americans to America as such. . . . What makes the American people different from any other people is the joint effect produced by the thoughts and actions of innumerable uncommon Americans.

Theory and History, pp. 191–92

Used to the conditions of a capitalistic environment, the average American takes it for granted that every year business makes something new and better accessible to him. Looking backward upon the years of his own life, he realizes that many implements that were totally unknown in the days of his youth and many others which at that time could be enjoyed only by a small minority are now standard equipment of almost every household. He is fully confident that this trend will prevail also in the future. He simply calls it the “American way of life” and does not give serious thought to the question of what made this continuous improvement in the supply of material goods possible.

Economic Freedom and Interventionism, p. 7

The most serious dangers for American freedom and the American way of life do not come from without.

Economic Freedom and Interventionism, p. 101

There is no use in deceiving ourselves. American public opinion rejects the market economy, the capitalistic free enterprise system that provided the nation with the highest standard of living ever attained. Full government control of all activities of the individual is virtually the goal of both national parties.

Economic Freedom and Interventionism, p. 157