The term 'capitalism' is as semantically unstable as the term 'liberalism' and will rarely mean the same thing for two people in an argument -- or even an agreement -- or even for one person in a private monolog from one moment to the next.
Even its denotations diverge:
The private ownership of the means of production by individuals. (See IDEOLOGICAL CAPITALISM.)
(Please note that this is the one and only definition of capitalism that could count as ideological. All others are economic, strategic, or emotional.)
(Note also that "corporate capitalism" -- the private ownership of the means of production by collectives -- is not the same thing. Under the State, a corporation is a collective entity that is treated as an individual person. The State-sanctioned corporation is not a person in any moral sense, but is merely a legal fiction created to shield individual persons from responsibility for the actions of the entity that generates their profits. See POLITICAL CAPITALISM.)
Profit from capital -- in contrast to compensation for labor.
An economic system based on prioritizing profit and prioritizing capital.
A commercial economy -- a market where the emphasis is on commerce and profit.
Any system that prioritizes capital over labor.
A free market in labor, in the context of a monopoly on capital. (Tucker)
[See the various essays on capitalism at BlackCrayon.com.]
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Compare and contrast the following:
bkMarcus, Reluctant Capitalist
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