AP Syllabus focus:
‘Core values also include free enterprise—the market sets prices and services—and the rule of law—everyone, including leaders, must follow the same laws.’
Free enterprise and the rule of law are core American values that shape public expectations about government. Together, they frame debates about markets, regulation, rights, fairness, and whether government power is being used legitimately.
Core Value: Free Enterprise
What “free enterprise” means in U.S. political culture
Free enterprise reflects the belief that economic decisions should largely be made through voluntary exchange in competitive markets, with limited government interference.
Free enterprise: An economic system in which privately owned businesses operate for profit and market forces (supply and demand) largely determine prices, wages, and services.
In this view, government’s role is often described as creating the conditions for markets to function (such as enforcing contracts) rather than directing economic outcomes.
How free enterprise shapes attitudes toward the role of government
Because free enterprise emphasises market decision-making, citizens who prioritise it may support:
Lower taxes and fewer barriers to business formation
Deregulation or “light-touch” oversight, especially for industries seen as drivers of growth
Strong property rights protections
Policies that encourage competition, entrepreneurship, and innovation
At the same time, support for free enterprise does not automatically mean opposition to all government involvement. Many Americans accept a government role in:
Preventing fraud and deceptive practices
Ensuring product and workplace safety
Maintaining fair competition (for example, limiting monopolistic behaviour)
Providing baseline market infrastructure (stable currency, predictable rules)
Market prices and services as a civic expectation
The syllabus framing—“the market sets prices and services”—signals a cultural expectation that:
A standard supply-and-demand graph showing how market price and quantity are determined at equilibrium (where the supply curve intersects the demand curve). It provides a visual model for why free-enterprise advocates emphasize decentralized decision-making: no single actor sets the price; it emerges from aggregate buying and selling behavior. Source
Prices reflect information about scarcity and demand
Consumers influence outcomes through choices (“voting with dollars”)
Private actors, not government agencies, often decide what is produced and offered
This expectation often becomes politically salient when government is perceived to be “picking winners and losers,” setting prices directly, or heavily shaping access to goods and services.
Core Value: The Rule of Law
What “rule of law” means in U.S. political culture
The rule of law expresses the idea that political authority is constrained by publicly known, consistently applied rules. It is central to legitimacy: people are more likely to accept government decisions when they believe procedures are lawful and fair.
An empirical chart of the “Rule of Law Index,” which operationalizes rule of law as measurable institutional features (e.g., independent judiciary, limits on office abuse, and enforcement of civil rights). This helps connect the concept of legitimacy in the notes to observable cross-national variation in how consistently and impartially laws are applied. Source
Rule of law: The principle that laws apply equally to everyone, are enforced through established procedures, and constrain government officials as well as citizens.
A key element in the syllabus statement is equality: “everyone, including leaders, must follow the same laws.” This directly connects the rule of law to distrust of corruption and resistance to arbitrary power.
Key features students should recognise
The rule of law in practice typically includes:
No one is above the law, including elected officials and government employees
Due process expectations: predictable procedures before punishment or deprivation of rights
Impartial enforcement by institutions tasked with applying law
Transparency and notice: laws are public and not secret standards used after the fact
Consistency: similar cases should be treated similarly, limiting favoritism
Even when citizens disagree about what a law should be, they may still value lawful processes for changing it (legislation, elections, court challenges) over extralegal methods.
Why the rule of law matters for liberty and rights
Americans often link the rule of law to protection from:
Arbitrary arrest or punishment
Politically motivated enforcement against opponents
Unequal treatment based on wealth, status, or connections
This helps explain why controversies involving selective enforcement, perceived conflicts of interest, or disregard for legal constraints can quickly become broader debates about democratic stability.
How These Values Interact in Politics
Complementary relationship: predictable rules make markets possible
Free enterprise and the rule of law reinforce each other because markets rely on legal order. Competitive exchange depends on:
Enforceable contracts
Secure property rights
Reliable dispute resolution
Stable expectations about what counts as legal behaviour
Without rule-of-law protections, market outcomes can be distorted by coercion, corruption, or favoritism, undermining public trust in “the market” as a fair allocator.
Tension points: when law and markets collide
Political conflict often arises over where to draw the line between:
Market freedom and government regulation
Profit-seeking and public protections (health, safety, fair dealing)
Uniform legal rules and claims that certain groups or industries need special treatment
When government expands oversight, supporters may argue it preserves fair competition or protects the public, while critics may argue it intrudes on free enterprise or creates bureaucratic barriers.
Shaping citizen views of government legitimacy
These core values influence how citizens judge government performance:
If people think officials follow the same rules as everyone else, they are more likely to view government actions as legitimate, even when outcomes are unpopular.
If people think markets are allowed to function with clear, fair rules, they are more likely to see economic outcomes as the result of choices rather than political manipulation.
Both values, therefore, shape beliefs about what government “should” do and whether it is acting appropriately in citizens’ lives.
FAQ
Rule of law focuses on equal constraints, fair procedures, and limits on government power.
“Law and order” often emphasises stricter enforcement and harsher penalties, which can be pursued with or without strong procedural protections.
A law (or its enforcement) is arbitrary when decisions are unpredictable, personalised, or not guided by consistent standards.
This undermines:
Equality before the law
Due process expectations
The legitimacy of government authority
In practice, markets require a legal framework to function at scale.
Common governmental foundations include:
Defining and protecting property
Enforcing contracts
Standardising currency and basic commercial rules Without these, exchange can be dominated by coercion or private power rather than competition.
Corruption suggests rules are for sale, which weakens the rule of law.
It also distorts free enterprise by allowing connected firms to gain advantages through political access rather than competition, affecting prices, services, and market entry.
They claim regulation can preserve competitive markets by:
Preventing monopolistic conduct
Reducing fraud and information asymmetries
Setting baseline safety standards that increase consumer confidence
The argument is that these measures make market pricing and services more trustworthy and genuinely competitive.
Practice Questions
Question 1 (1–3 marks) Define the rule of law and explain one way it can influence public trust in government.
1 mark: Correct definition that laws apply equally and bind leaders as well as citizens.
1 mark: Explains link to trust (e.g., belief decisions are not arbitrary/corrupt).
1 mark: Accurate example of influence (e.g., equal enforcement increases legitimacy; perceived selective enforcement reduces trust).
Question 2 (4–6 marks) Using the core value of free enterprise, explain two reasons why citizens might disagree about government regulation of business. For each reason, connect your explanation to how markets set prices and services.
1 mark: Identifies first reason for disagreement (e.g., regulation protects consumers/competition OR regulation burdens innovation).
1 mark: Explains first reason using free enterprise logic.
1 mark: Connects first reason to market pricing/services (e.g., regulation affects prices, availability, competition).
1 mark: Identifies second, distinct reason for disagreement.
1 mark: Explains second reason using free enterprise logic.
1 mark: Connects second reason to market pricing/services.
