What is Capitalism?

By
william
-
6
844

Capitalism is the preferred system in wealthy, democratic nations. It is a word that used a lot in politics. Unfortunately, it is often misused which causes false ideas about the implications of capitalism and what defines a capitalist.

Capitalism is the economic system based on private ownership of the means of production which leads to the profit of the owner. The actual production, distribution, and price are determined by the free market (supply, demand, and trade with minimal government interference).

Therefore capitalism is an economic system where businesses and corporations are owned buy individuals rather than the government. A believer in private ownership rather than government ownership is a capitalist.

But some say that capitalism is more than just an economic system. They call it a socio-economic system because capitalism is also an interpretation of social organization base on the individual’s right to economic freedom.

6 COMMENTS

  1. Quite correct. I'm curious, what are examples of the rampant misuse of capitalism, per se? If you were to define capitalism even further, I recommend also mentioning Adam Smith and maybe why capitalism is appealing, benefits and downsides. A good concise article!

  2. thanks for commenting, and i'm sorry for the lack of detail, this is actually a shortened version of an essay i wrote, the original essay was much more detailed, but i didn't think anyone would want to read 6 paragraphs about why capitalism in combination with a free market economy leads to faster economic growth but at a high risk.

  3. Ahh… How I love capitalism…. I could write love poems about capitalism and the Wealth of Nations and multi-billion dollar corporations and everything with a dollar sign.

    OK. Enough rambling. By the way William, in my studies of economics, I have learned that capitalism in practice today is very different from the capitalism Smith envisioned. I would definitely recommend that you take a look at the Wealth of Nations.

  5. I recommend watching the documentary, "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room." This is an insightful documentary of capitalism wheeling down a dark tunnel of the stock market as a bustling train, and emerging as a broken down wagon. It is quite shocking and I enjoyed it immensely.

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