Comment on We've tried nothing and we're all out of ideas
Hapankaali@lemmy.world 2 days agoAn economic system characterized by the private ownership of the means of production, and state regulation to protect the right of private ownership.
Comment on We've tried nothing and we're all out of ideas
Hapankaali@lemmy.world 2 days agoAn economic system characterized by the private ownership of the means of production, and state regulation to protect the right of private ownership.
mushroomman_toad@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 days ago
There are a lot of different kinds of production, so that older definition isn’t really that relevant in the globalized world.
There isn’t really any single definition of capitalism, I dont think even Marx defined it in a single sentence himself. But I think an important aspect of modern capitalism is capital owning far more than just the means of production, going to the point where capital determines social and political power. An economy where capital has dictatorial control over people’s lives and even over entire governments.
By my definition, a private share company is capitalist, while a family business or a coop is not capitalist, even though they are all private businesses with economic protection from the government. The question is whether political power comes from your money, or from social activity and democracy.
Its also important to note that an economy can be dominated by capitalist activity, but can still have government protections keeping capitalist activity out of certain sectors, such as public healthcare or welfare.