3 ms·
Capitalism as it was initial proposed was an explicit rejection of mercantilism, the guiding light for how colonial companies worked. You are mistaking the begi
by sickofparadox 2y ago
Capitalism as it was initial proposed was an explicit rejection of mercantilism, the guiding light for how colonial companies worked. You are mistaking the beginning of shareholder based ownership, which is not an intrinsic part of Capitalism, with the core concept of Capitalism.
- PaulHoule 2y agoI'll grant that Adam Smith made a strong case that free trade makes people richer, that's one part of the story, but it's not the whole story. Note Wikipedia shies away from making a definition https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitalism#Definition https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitalism#Definition "There is no universally agreed upon definition of capitalism... some doubt that the term "capitalism" possesses valid scientific dignity, and it is generally not discussed in mainstream economics... understanding of the concept of capitalism tends to be heavily influenced by opponents of capitalism and by the followers and critics of Karl Marx." I'd argue that the shareholder based ownership makes possible the vast expansion of scale which makes "modern" systems so productive. e.g. in "capitalism" somebody can accumulate capital and invest it.