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Revision as of 09:06, 21 February 2002 by Larry Sanger (talk | contribs) (Re-incorporating and editing the old capitalism/different meanings article...)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Capitalism is a theory of economy in which private individuals may own property and make investments, and in which prices, production, and the distribution of goods are determined mainly by competition in a free market
The meanings of "capitalism"
The word "capitalism" is used for many different meanings, sometimes opposite ones. However, most of them are variants on the definition "economic system in which capital goods belong to private individuals." An opposing term would thus be collectivism (and variants).
As with many common words, and most particularly ideologically laden words, "capitalism" has many meanings, and there is a lot confusion when using it as to whether it means any particular meaning, or whether it is just a slogan or insult used without particular meaning intend (or worse, with confusion intended).
"Capitalism" as a phenomenon (e.g., the system of the private ownership of capital) is certainly different from "capitalism" as an ideology (the philosophical advocacy of that system--not the same kind of notion at all.
Opponents of capitalism sometimes deny that these represent subtantially different things, or say they go hand-in-hand. Although it is arguable whether or not two meanings of the word "capitalism" of the same kind are somehow "equivalent" under someone's subjective notion of equivalence, for the sake of not making a straw man argument when accusing someone else to be a proponent of capitalism, these different concepts must be clearly distinguished.
For instance, often the term "capitalism" is used by communists to dismiss classical liberalism by accusing it with the defects of mercantilism, even though classical liberalism was invented as a opposition to mercantilism in the first place, long before communism was ever popular.
The word "capitalism" was mostly unknown, and didn't have any ideologic or systemic connotation until Karl Marx used it in his famous politico-economic treatise Das Kapital. The word became famous, mostly used by communists in a derogatory way while often failing to distinguish between any of its possible meanings. Finally, some classical liberal thinkers accepted this insult as a valid name for their ideology. Actually, some of the most radical classical liberal thinkers now call themselves anarcho-capitalists.
Capitalism and political ideologies
There are many different and opposite ideologies that value capitalism:
- libertarianism (sometimes also called classical liberalism) defends a "pure" form of capitalism with minimal State intervention.
- conservatism varies depending on countries in its specific stances, but in western countries, usually defends something not unlike the status quo of current capitalist practices (see political conservatism).
- mercantilism defend state intervention to protect domestic commerce and industries against foreign competition (see protectionism).
- social democracy argues for extended state regulation and partial intervention in a capitalist background (see welfare state, political liberalism, liberal democracy, new liberalism).
Many different and opposite ideologies fight capitalism and argue for collectivism, which
- socialism argues for extensive State control of economy, though with small tolerated areas of capitalism.
- fascism argues for extensive State control of economy, with delegation of its powers to complacent capitalists.
- communism argues for collective ownnership of the means of production, and the overthrow of the state.
- libertarian socialism argues for collective control of economy without the need for a State.
Arguments for and against capitalism
Since there are so many divergent ideologies backing or fighting capitalism, there is no possible agreed upon argument list for or against it. See under each of the above ideologies what it has to say about capitalism.
See also
- Related topics: History of Economic Thought.
- Related words: capitalist.
- Related ideologies: classical liberalism (libertarianism, minarchism, anarcho-capitalism), conservatism (political conservatism), mercantilism, protectionism, social democracy (welfare state, liberalism, political liberalism, liberal democracy), state interventionism, socialism, fascism, communism, libertarian socialism.