The economy of a nation is a major indication of its success; it also influences other countries and their relations. One aspect of nation's economic success or failure is the system of government. Whether a nation is socialistic, communistic, ruled by absolute sovereignty, or is based on capitalistic principles can be a key factor in a country's economic success or failure. A country's government can encourage or stifle money management and investment, thus directly affecting future planning. Certain governments also deprive freedom of choice and implement regulations that control property and rights. Other governments encourage free trade, allowing the individual to prosper in a free market economy. The basis of such a system is the people buying and selling to meet the country's supply and demand. The control of workers and the market, or economic freedom in a country is extremely significant.

The economy is the prosperity of a nation and its earnings. An example of government that controls the economy is communism: a command economy. Many countries in Europe and Asia adapted this system. The premise was that all the people should own all the property, but the governments of communistic nations took control of the market. People are told how to work, when to work, and what to work on. All profits go to the government, but the money is divided equally among the people. In such a work environment, people have no choice in their trade. The government controls almost everything - there may be some free running business owned by rich governmental-associated affiliates, but that's about it. The rest is under strict regulation and control.

When people become poor and unemployed, they have the potential to lose self-respect, and become lazy. They also lose values and morals, and become resentful of the wealthier class. This is repeatedly shown in history, and can be correlated with the government's control of the economy. Likewise, when the citizens (in many cases the government officials) of a country become wealthy, they often become greedy, selfish, and morally depraved as well. This can result in more freedoms taken away from others, as they end up being controlled by those with more money. Nations with this kind of setup result in an economic slump. Examples of this include Russian and Asian countries.

Many believe that economic crisis can be prevented and solved by implementing government regulation and control. Others believe the International Monetary Fund should be granted a supply money, and that joining together the nations with a regulation of currency (as with Europe and the euro dollar) will be the solution.

The people's success is a nation's success. People's economic success is a result of their own endeavors, and often correlated with the type of government they live under. Another type of goverment based on a free market economy encourages people to plan for the future and make the most of what they own.

Freedom of choice and the right to own property come together to shape the free market - the principles of true capitalism. A nations success should be measured by what its entrepreneurs and its work force produce, as believed by "the father of economics", Adam Smith.

Furthermore, when people have the freedom to make choices, own property, and work for whom they desire (whether it be themselves working as an entrepreneur, or another), they put more effort into their work and reap the fruits of their own labor. Adam Smith believed that a nation's success lied within its workers and businesses to produce and sell. People's desire to make a profit from their own labor, and receive their own profit, naturally encourages them to manage their money in a way that would bring the best result.

The United States is an example of a free market economy. There are many regulations in the US system of government that don't allow for a complete freedom, but the freedoms that do exist are the fundamental reasons that the nation continues to prosper economically. When the global crisis that developed in Asia hit the USA - considered the greatest economic threat since World War II - it's position as the world's biggest open market helped imports to prosper. Although there was some decline in the economic percentage statistics, the USA got through the crisis. It's a free market economy that brings increased competition and individual entrepreneurs that are meeting supply and demand at their own inspiration. The freedom of choice, the right to own property, and supply and demand all come together to form a system that causes a nation to flourish.

"Debt is the slavery of the free," Publilius Syrus once said. Wendell Phillips once commented on debt as a "fatal disease of republics, the first thing and the mightiest to undermine governments and corrupt the people." Monopolies and devaluation plays their parts just as agricultural decline does for nations dependent on agriculture.

Ultimatetly, it is the people themselves at which lies the heart of supply and demand. This, in turn, makes the form of government a key factor in the economic situation within a country.