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Capitalism refers to a set of practices that were institutionalized in Europe between the 16th and 19th centuries, especially involving the right of individuals and groups of individuals acting as "legal persons" (or corporations) to buy and sell capital goods (including land and labor) in a free (meaning, free from state control) market; a set of theories meant to justify the private ownership of capital, to explain the operation of such markets, and to guide the application or elimination of government regulation of property and markets; and a set of beliefs about the advantages of such practices.

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."

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.

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.