Let's think about what is needed for an economy to produce goods and services. At the center are the people who work, individually or organized in large or small companies. We all use tools, machinery, and infrastructure. We depend heavily on others, our suppliers: we are not Robinson Crusoe doing everything alone. Finally, there are the different levels of government, which set the rules of the game, enforce them, and directly manage a significant part of the economy's resources (almost half of what we produce).

One of the words economists use most is “it depends.” Perhaps we like to sound interesting or to split hairs, but mostly it’s because reality is complex and the questions we ask are difficult to answer with a simple yes or no. This is what I believe is happening with the question in the title: it depends on how we look at it.