Blondie: sorry, but here's your definition lesson for today:
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
cap·i·tal·ism /ˈkæpɪtlˌɪzəm/ [kap-i-tl-iz-uhm] –noun an economic system in which investment in and ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange of wealth is made and maintained chiefly by private individuals or corporations, esp. as contrasted to cooperatively or state-owned means of wealth.
[Origin: 1850–55; capital1 + -ism]
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
cap·i·tal·ism (kāp'ĭ-tl-ĭz'əm)
n. An economic system in which the means of production and distribution are privately or corporately owned and development is proportionate to the accumulation and reinvestment of profits gained in a free market.
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This capitalism
noun
an economic system based on private ownership of capital [ant: socialism]
WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition - Cite This Source - Share This
capitalism
An economic and political system characterized by a free market for goods and services and private control of production and consumption. (Compare socialism and communism.)
[Chapter:] World Politics
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Investopedia - Cite This Source - Share This
Capitalism
An economic system based on a free market, open competition, profit motive and private ownership of the means of production. Capitalism encourages private investment and business, compared to a government-controlled economy. Investors in these private companies (i.e. shareholders) also own the firms and are known as capitalists.
Investopedia Commentary
In such a system, individuals and firms have the right to own and use wealth to earn income and to sell and purchase labor for wages with little or no government control. The function of regulating the economy is then achieved mainly through the operation of market forces where prices and profit dictate where and how resources are used and allocated. The U.S. is a capitalistic system.
Please use a scalpel, instead of a broad brush. The same broad brush is easily applied to socialist regimes, even a not so obvious one as Australia (Yes, Mrs. Survivor will have to get over it.).
"When in doubt, empty the clip."
