American exceptionalism has been propelled by exceptionally free markets, so it’s tempting to think the United States has a freer economy than Western European countries — particularly those soft-socialist Scandinavian social democracies with punishing tax burdens and lavish, even coddling, welfare states. As late as 2000, the American economy was indeed the freest in the West. But something strange has happened since: Economic freedom in the United States has dropped at an alarming rate. Meanwhile, a number of big-government welfare states have become at least as robustly capitalist as the United States, and maybe more so. Why? Because big welfare states needed to become better capitalists to afford their socialism. This counterintuitive, even paradoxical dynamic suggests a tantalizing hypothesis: America’s shabby, unpopular safety net is at least partly responsible for capitalism’s flagging fortunes in the Land of the Free. Could it be that Americans aren’t socialist enough to want capitalism to work? It makes more sense than you might think.
The freedom lover's case for the welfare state - Vox
The ideas that Hillary Clinton has offered in her campaign respond to people’s needs but not to their anger. Americans are angry because they see the game of life as rigged, full of rules they never agreed to and that never favor them. They don’t just want to be helped—in fact, many do not seek help at all. They want justice and fairness: rules that will give them their due, protect their freedoms, and let them help themselves. Here are six initiatives, consistent with other Clinton commitments, that advance fairness. They should become part of her plan.