Yes. It is called a "free market".
And it tends to work well over a broad range of problems.
It doesn't work for a few though.
But still where the US deviates, it often is a [link|http://www.economist.com/business/displayStory.cfm?story_id=1317912|bad idea].
Incidentally like a lot of good US ideas, we shamelessly stole it from someone else. This one comes from some place that can't decide whether they should be called England, Britain, Great Britain, or the United Kingdom. (Which, despite being called united, seems to be divided between the English, and people who dislike the English...) Perhaps you have heard of it? :-P
Cheers,
Ben
