13-Oct-2011, 08:18 AM
From wikipedia:
It seems that with the crises striking it recently (financial crisis) and some of the responses to the crises (impact of Arab Spring), capitalism may be in trouble.
Any thoughts on capitalism? Is it a sustainable/good/fair system?
Quote:Capitalism is an economic system in which the means of production are privately owned and operated for profit, usually in competitive markets. There is no consensus on the precise definition of capitalism, nor on how the term should be used as a historical category. There is, however, little controversy that private ownership of the means of production, creation of goods or services for profit in a market, and prices and wages are elements of capitalism. The designation is applied to a variety of historical cases, varying in time, geography, politics and culture.
Karl Marx provided a differentia specifica for capitalism: People sell their labouring-power to a buyer, not to satisfy the personal needs of the buyer, but to augment the buyer's capital.
Other writers define capitalism as a system in which all the means of production are privately owned, and some define it more loosely as one in which merely "most" are in private hands. Ideology further complicates the definition. Classical liberals such as Mises, Rand, and Rothbard define capitalism as a market system with no interference by States (laissez faire). Some define capitalism as a system governed by capital accumulation regardless of the legal ownership titles.
It seems that with the crises striking it recently (financial crisis) and some of the responses to the crises (impact of Arab Spring), capitalism may be in trouble.
Any thoughts on capitalism? Is it a sustainable/good/fair system?