Which promotes greater personal responsibility, the free market or the welfare state? According to Wikipedia, “In economics, a free market is an economic system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of government or any other external authority.” Basically this is when people trade with each other for a reasonable price. 

According to the dictionary, the welfare state is “a system whereby the government undertakes to protect the health and well-being of its citizens, especially those in financial or social need, by means of grants, pensions, and other benefits. The foundations for the modern welfare state in the US were laid by the New Deal programs of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.” This is when the government tries to fix the peoples problems for them. 

Which promotes greater personal responsibility, the free market or the welfare state? The free market. In the free market the people do almost everything. If the government gets involved then it’s less work for the people.