Capitalism

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Capitalism is an economic system in which most or ideally all of the means of production are owned by private actors (individuals and groups acting on their behalf known as corporations), while the government is limited to law enforcement and possibly foreign relations. An ideal form of capitalism, without any government interference whatsoever, is often called laissez-faire capitalism, from the French term for "let go". Capitalism is the economic system preferred by libertarians, as it is both most consistent with natural rights and produces the most desirable results.

Other Definitions

Capitalism is used to mean different things depending on where and who it is used with. Possible definitions for Capitalism include:

• Free market with private property (Preferred by Austrians and Libertarians)
• Mercantilism (Preferred by Socialists)
• Industrialized economy (Common usage)
• Systematic exploitation of the proletariat by the capitalists (Preferred by Communists)
• Monopolization of Economic Rent violating the absolute labor-based rights to property of the excluded (BenTucker)

The following systems are often called "Capitalism" in the common vernacular:

• State Capitalism
• Corporate Capitalism
• Fascism
• Mixed Economy

Because of the confusion on the definition of Capitalism, a unique form of "Anti-capitalism" has arisen among advocates of the free market due to their opposition to the use of the word, saying it creates confusion and does more good than harm to any attempts at discussing related topics.

Famous proponents

• Ludwig von Mises
• Ayn Rand
• George Reisman
• Milton Friedman

See also

• Socialism
• Interventionism