Correct, but I'd claim that there is a "freemarket" ethos in the US, despite the lack of them. People here often say they want freemarkets and hold it as an ethical and idealized system. Their government behaves very much in contradiction to that though.

When exactly?

The bulk of USAs technological progress is Department of Defense investments. Such as ARPANET, computers, supercomputers, pressurized cabins for bombers (converted into passenger jet tech today), NASA projects and more.

USA was only free market in the 1800s. When the 'Robber Barons' turned out to be a bunch of assholes, we regulated away a lot of that bullshit they did.

I agree with your assessment of how the government looks, in actuality, here. The ethos i was describing was my own anecdata of what people claim to value. IE, they give at least lip service (maybe more actual effort as well) to wanting free markets, but their government does not actually do that

I'm not sure you can declare everything that ever received government funding as invented by the government. Jets are "just" pressurized cabins? Why ignore the Wright brothers in this story? Aren't jets really "just" fast planes? And ARPANET is "just" telegrams with computers. On that note, computers were not invented by the government, although they recieved a lot of funding from them.

I don't think oversimplifying this issue helps us discuss it seriously.