The system of world economics today is known as capitalism. The free market system, meaning that the market, not the government or some other source, sets the prices, dominates the way America and the other major nations trade. While there are some regulations, the prices of goods and services are determined by what the consumers are willing to pay. This became the major system in Western Europe during the price revolution. As guilds and other restrictive bodies collapsed, capitalism was brought to the forefront. Merchants and local business people sold their items based on the what they knew would make them the highest profit. They sold their products for the highest price they could while still being able to sell the most they could. The more desirable goods were, the higher they could be sold for and vice versa. Prices also depended on how bountiful an item or resource was. This is why capitalism is most commonly associated with the phrase “supply and demand”. This new system also encouraged taking risks and investing money. The best way to accumulate wealth was to put invest and put money back into the system in hopes that you could make a higher gain. The flow and exchange of physical tangible money was important to the development of the capitalistic economy. Capitalism in the 16th and 17th centuries was not exactly what it is today, but it laid the foundation for modern world economics. This early, but influential, form of capitalism that was brought about by the Price Revolution would eventually become the way the world trades today.