Another thread full of misconceptions about capitalism.
A little history, the first use of the term 'capitalism' was by the French socialist Louis Blanc in 1850, who defined the term as "the appropriation
of capital by some to the exclusion of others."
It was later defined as "the private ownership of the means of production", by socialists, which became the official definition. Marx describes it as
the system that replaced feudalism, when the laws changed allowing land owners, the Noblemen, to sell plots of land and deny it's use to the commoners
(the rest of us). Up until this point common land laws allowed the commoners to use land that was not already in use. When this right was denied due
to the change in the law it forced people into towns and cities to work in factories and mills. This was the beginning of labour exploitation by
capitalists/land owners which lead to the industrial revolution (the capitalist revolution of exploiting people to produce goods to sell to other rich
capitalists).
This lead to the workers organizing and coming up with ideas to replace the private owner/labour exploitation problem. Workers decided they would be
better off if they owned the mills and factories they worked in. This economic system was called socialism. Socialism is the 'workers ownership of
the means of production', and there are many different ways to organize and implement it from state control, Marxism, to no state at all,
Anarchism.
"Anarchism is stateless socialism",
Mikhail Bakunin.
Capitalism is not 'free-markets'. When the means to produce for the market are mostly privately owned, then control of the market is by the private
owners, the capitalists, a minority group with strong self interests. The same group who has sold you 'self interest' as "freedom", when it's only a
way to weaken you, and only serves their interests. It's only a 'free-market' for those who own capital, and make their living from it. In a true
'free-market' labour would be treated like any commodity, and workers would have control over the value of their labour and the product they
produce.
Under capitalism the worker is exploited, because they have to produce more than they are paid for, in order for the capitalist to make profit. It's
a myth that capitalists create "jobs", they simply control the scarcity of "jobs" like they artificially create scarcity of resources in the market,
to maintain control and profits.
Capitalism is not money, money is simply a tool of any market system. Capitalism is not the market, and neither is socialism, they are simply terms
describing whom has the majority control over the means to produce goods for the market, and for human needs. Those that own the means of production
control the economy, and thus control the system. Capitalists are the only people who can afford to run for top seats in government, they don't
represent the workers, you and me, the represent the minority owners of capital.
(and I mean those capitalist owners who are at the very top of the pyramid scheme, like the oil companies, not Ma and Pa's sandwich shop.)
So yes the USA, and most all of the world, is based on a capitalist economy. There is no country at this present time who's economy is mostly owned
and controlled by the workers. If there was the US military would probably be there "liberating" it's people
We do have true/unbridled Capitalism, capitalism is capitalism is capitalism. There is only one kind, and that be the private ownership of the means
of prosecution. In theory it can be good, and it can be totalitarian, that all depends on the state system that supports it.
It is much easier for a capitalist economy to become totalitarian than a socialist one simply because when ownership of the economy is concentrated in
fewer and fewer hands it becomes easier for them to control the state, or manipulate the state in their favour.
"Labor is entitled to all it creates"
edit on 3/12/2012 by ANOK because: (no reason given)