1. The American economic system is, organized around a basically private-enterprise, market- oriented economy in which consumers largely determine what shall be produced by spending their money in the marketplace for those goods and services that they want most.

　　[參考譯文] 美國的經濟是以基本的私有企業和市場導向經濟為架構的，在這種經濟中，消費者很大程度上通過在市場上為那些他們最想要的貨品和服務付費來決定什么應該被制造出來。

　　2. Thus, in the American economic system it is the demand of individual consumers, coupled with the desire of businessmen to maximize profits and the desire of individuals to maximize their incomes, that together determine what shall be produced and how resources are used to produce it.

　　[參考譯文] 因此，在美國的經濟體系中，個體消費者的需求與商人試圖最大化其利潤的欲望和個人想最大化其收入效用的欲望相結合，一起決定了什么應該被制造，以及資源如何被用來制造它們。

　　3. If, on the other hand, producing more of a commodity results in reducing its cost, this will tend to increase the supply offered by seller-producers, which in turn will lower the price and permit more consumers to buy the product.

　　[參考譯文] 另一方面，如果大量制造某種商品導致其成本下降，那么這就有可能增加賣方和制造商能提供的供給，而這也就會反過來降低價格并允許更多的消 費者購買產品。

　　4. In the American economy, the concept of private property embraces not only the ownership of productive resources but also certain rights, including the right to determine the price of a product or to make a free contract with another private individual.

　　[參考譯文] 在美國經濟中，私有財產的概念不僅包含對生產資源的所有權，也指其他一些特定的權利，如確定一個產品價格和與另一個私人個體(經濟單位) 自由簽定合同的權利。

　　5. At the same time these computers record which hours are busiest and which employers are the most efficient, allowing personnel and staffing assignments to be made accordingly. And they also identify preferred customers for promotional campaigns.

　　[參考譯文] 同時這些計算機記錄下哪些時間是最忙的，哪些員工工作效率最高，這樣就能相應地做出人員人事安排。而且它們(計算機)也能為促銷活動找到那些擁有優先權的顧客。

　　6. Numerous other commercial enterprises, from theaters to magazine publishers, from gas and electric utilities to milk processors, bring better and more efficient services to consumers through the use of computers.

　　[參考譯文] 不計其數的其他商業企業，從劇院到雜志出版商，從公用燃氣電力設施到牛奶處理廠，都通過計算機的使用給消費者帶來更好、更有效率的服務。