A command economy also known as a planned economy is the opposite of a free market system. Instead of businesses and property being privately owned, the government determines levels of production permissible and how much can be charged for goods and services. The type of political system in place often influences the market that exists. Free markets often operate in capitalist systems, while command economies are often a byproduct of communist economies. That said, command economies are standard tools of both communism and socialism. In the real-world, most economies are somewhere between a pure free-market economy and a pure command-economy. The Ins and Outs Of Command Economies In command economies, governments devise a central economic plan. This plan outlines how resources are allocated, may set economic goals for each sector, and set national priorities. The goal of a command economy is to maximize a country’s capital, labor, and natural resources to ensure the needs of all people in a country are met. Incomes are also regulated and laws and regulations are set to ensure the plan is enforced. The hope is that by controlling and