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The term "capitalism" is not (as you appear to be implying) synonymous with "market economies". In fact they are two separate economic concepts. There have bee
by cyphar 6y ago
The term "capitalism" is not (as you appear to be implying) synonymous with "market economies". In fact they are two separate economic concepts.
There have been economic systems that had free markets (feudal lords bought and sold goods in market economies) and there were also examples of capitalist enterprises that existed without free markets (some people would argue the Soviet Union fits this description, but if you prefer a less contentious example, most capitalist countries when they are functioning under a war economy have some form of central planning).
Capitalism refers to an economic system where the way in which production is organised is through an employer-employee relationship.
- socialdemocrat 6y agoI think it is also important to add that it is a system where capital plays a significant role in the economy unlike say a feudal economy where land was the most important factor in the economy.
- panarky 6y agoWhile I realize that land is a distinct factor of production in the land-labor-capital-entrepreneurship model, in common usage I'd say land is the ultimate capital. Capitalists exploit ownership to generate profit for themselves. Sometimes that's ownership of something they produced, like a machine or a building or a work of the mind. More often, it's something produced by labor that they exploit for profit. And sometimes it's something they didn't produce, but manage to own and profit from nonetheless, like land and natural resources.
- sudosysgen 6y agoCapital must be producible. Land cannot be any form of capital because it cannot be produced.
- SAI_Peregrinus 6y agoLand can certainly be produced. It's very expensive, and quite limited, but things like the Dutch polders or Dubai's Palm Islands. Or for that matter much of San Francisco, Shenzen, and several other major cities.
- sudosysgen 6y agoActually, no it can't. Land ownership expands even to the ocean (see EEZ), terraforming != producing land.