[crocodiletears]

That's not part of our cultural mythology, no.

Though the US government isn't nearly as overbearing as a European state, it's still active in the domain of regulation and the public is generally fine with that.

Thr US government has long-since taken up the mantle of corporate regulation. Its presence is felt in nearly every aspect of our economy. That presence is seemingly just as often the product of corruption as it is altruism, and it's only occasionally competent. But it's there, and no serious political force seems interested in completely removing it. At most the republicans want to reduce it in some capacity, and principled libertarians are a sideshow.