Definition of capitalism Capitalism

/kæˈpɪtʌlɪˌzʌm/ - [katpitulizum] - cap•i•tal•ism

We found 7 definitions of capitalism from 5 different sources.

What does capitalism mean?

WordNet

Noun Plural: capitalisms
capitalism - an economic system based on private ownership of capital
		capitalist economy
		socialist economy, socialism a political theory advocating state ownership of industry
		free enterprise, laissez-faire economy, market economy, private enterprise an economy that relies chiefly on market forces to allocate goods and resources and to determine prices

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Wiktionary

capitalism (Noun)
A socio-economic system based on private property rights, including the private ownership of resources or capital, with economic decisions made largely through the operation of a market unregulated by the state.
capitalism (Noun)
A socio-economic system based on the abstraction of resources into the form of privately-owned capital, with economic decisions made largely through the operation of a market unregulated by the state.
capitalism (Noun)
A specific variation or implementation of either such socio-economic system.

OmegaWiki DictionaryOmegaWiki Dictionary Ω

capitalism
An economic system based on private ownership of capital.

Wikipedia

Capitalism is a kind of economic system where things (property for example) are owned by people or an individual, not by a government or communities. This is called the "free market". Most countries in the world today do have some government controls, so they are actually called "mixed economies" instead of totally free markets. Some people disagree on whether capitalism is a good idea, or how much capitalism is a good idea.

The word comes from "capital", meaning something of value. This can be money ("financial capital") or any other goods that can be traded. "Capital" originally comes from the Latin word "caput", meaning "head", because it was used to mean how many "head" of cattle a wealthy person owned, in days long ago when cattle were used as money. (In fact, the words "capital" and "cattle" both come from "caput".)

Buying, selling, working, and hiring.

In capitalism, people may sell or lend the things they own, and other people may buy or borrow them. If one person wants to buy, and another person wants to sell to them, they do not need to get permission from any king or group.] — people can have a market (buying and selling with each other) without anyone else telling them to. The definition of capitalism and the free market economy was introduced by the philosopher Adam Smith in his book "The Wealth of Nations".

The word "capital" means any thing or money that a person owns, that can be used to produce more things or money. For example, lands, factories, shops, tools