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It's obvious, but this fact escapes so many people today: we do not have capitalism in the US. What does a free market mean, anyway? Free of what? It means fre

It's obvious, but this fact escapes so many people today: we do not have capitalism in the US. What does a free market mean, anyway? Free of what? It means freedom from your neighbors, no matter if it's just one of them breaking into your house at night, or a whole bunch of them voting for laws to take what's rightfully yours by day. To put it another way, in a free market, others can't control when you buy or sell, nor can they take your money by force or fraud, even if they call it "taxes."

regularfry 15y ago
Capitalism doesn't require a free market, and the definition of a free market allows for tax collection by the government. Your definition of both is simply wrong.
- maxharris 15y ago
  I don't agree. Here's the most definitive definition of capitalism (written by what many today acknowledge as its greatest champion): http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/capitalism.html http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/capitalism.html From the link: Capitalism is a social system based on the recognition of individual rights, including property rights, in which all property is privately owned. Today, we don't come close to this ideal. One example of this is that the government is the largest single landowner in the country: http://strangemaps.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/map-owns_the_west.jpg http://strangemaps.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/map-owns_the_... Need I mention Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the alphabet soup of regulatory agencies, the Federal Reserve, the giant social programs that redistribute forcibly? None of these things existed a century ago when this country was on the rise. When I say “capitalism,” I mean a full, pure, uncontrolled, unregulated laissez-faire capitalism—with a separation of state and economics, in the same way and for the same reasons as the separation of state and church. This is something we've never had, even in the 19th century. When we do, the human flourishing unleashed will make the lives for those who live it more vibrant and fulfilling than anything seen before on Earth.
  - sorbus 15y ago
    > From the link: Capitalism is a social system based on the recognition of individual rights, including property rights, in which all property is privately owned. The real definition, from wikipedia: "Capitalism is an economic system structured upon the accumulation of capital in which the means of production are privately owned and operated for profit, usually in competitive markets." Ayn Rand's definition looks more like libertarianism ("a political philosophy that upholds individual liberty, especially freedom of expression and action ... minimization of the state and sharing the goal of maximizing individual liberty and freedom.").

regularfry 15y ago

Capitalism doesn't require a free market, and the definition of a free market allows for tax collection by the government. Your definition of both is simply wrong.

maxharris 15y ago
I don't agree. Here's the most definitive definition of capitalism (written by what many today acknowledge as its greatest champion): http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/capitalism.html http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/capitalism.html From the link: Capitalism is a social system based on the recognition of individual rights, including property rights, in which all property is privately owned. Today, we don't come close to this ideal. One example of this is that the government is the largest single landowner in the country: http://strangemaps.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/map-owns_the_west.jpg http://strangemaps.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/map-owns_the_... Need I mention Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the alphabet soup of regulatory agencies, the Federal Reserve, the giant social programs that redistribute forcibly? None of these things existed a century ago when this country was on the rise. When I say “capitalism,” I mean a full, pure, uncontrolled, unregulated laissez-faire capitalism—with a separation of state and economics, in the same way and for the same reasons as the separation of state and church. This is something we've never had, even in the 19th century. When we do, the human flourishing unleashed will make the lives for those who live it more vibrant and fulfilling than anything seen before on Earth.
- sorbus 15y ago
  > From the link: Capitalism is a social system based on the recognition of individual rights, including property rights, in which all property is privately owned. The real definition, from wikipedia: "Capitalism is an economic system structured upon the accumulation of capital in which the means of production are privately owned and operated for profit, usually in competitive markets." Ayn Rand's definition looks more like libertarianism ("a political philosophy that upholds individual liberty, especially freedom of expression and action ... minimization of the state and sharing the goal of maximizing individual liberty and freedom.").