capitalism
Profit-driven economy
Capitalism is an economic system in which private individuals or businesses own the means of production and operate them for profit.
Markets determine prices, wages, and the distribution of goods.
The term often carries political weight—praised as the engine of prosperity and innovation, or criticized as a source of inequality and exploitation.
Under capitalism, competition drives efficiency.
Critics argue capitalism prioritizes profit over people.
Commerce without state intervention
- laissez-faireNoninterference in commerce
- private propertyIndividually owned assets
- profit motiveDrive to earn money
- individualismDoctrine of personal independence
competition · deregulation · neoliberalism · libertarianism · Reaganomics · Thatcherism · invisible hand · Adam Smith
Selfish use of others
- inequalityUnequal distribution of resources
- alienationState of being isolated
- commodificationTransforming into sellable goods
- laborStrenuous effort; also childbirth
proletariat · bourgeoisie · Marx · class struggle · surplus value · wage slavery · sweatshop · imperialism
Legally separate business entity
- entrepreneurshipCreating and managing ventures
- startupNew business enterprise
- businessCommercial activity or occupation
- ventureRisky new undertaking
company · franchise · merger · acquisition · shareholder · privatization · partnership · CEO
Preoccupation with acquiring goods
- advertisingPaid promotional communication
- brandingCreating distinctive identity
- materialismPrioritizing goods over spirit
- shoppingAcquiring goods at retailers
retail · purchasing · products · goods · demand · marketing · planned obsolescence · fast fashion
Person worth ten figures
- millionairePerson possessing great wealth
- tycoonDominant industrial leader
- magnateWealthy business leader
- affluenceAbundance of money
prosperity · inheritance · assets · fortune · opulence · luxury · mansions · yacht
Ownership stakes or inventory
- tradingExchanging for value
- exchangeMutual giving and receiving
- commoditiesTradeable raw materials
- sharesUnits of company ownership
Wall Street · speculation · derivatives · futures · options · equities · securities · IPO
free market
Commerce without state intervention
- laissez-faireNoninterference in commerce
- private propertyIndividually owned assets
- profit motiveDrive to earn money
individualism · competition · deregulation · neoliberalism · libertarianism · Reaganomics · Thatcherism · invisible hand · Adam Smith · Milton Friedman
exploitation
Selfish use of others
- inequalityUnequal distribution of resources
- alienationState of being isolated
- commodificationTransforming into sellable goods
labor · proletariat · bourgeoisie · Marx · class struggle · surplus value · wage slavery · sweatshop · imperialism · colonialism
corporation
Legally separate business entity
- entrepreneurshipCreating and managing ventures
- startupNew business enterprise
- businessCommercial activity or occupation
venture · company · franchise · merger · acquisition · shareholder · privatization · partnership · CEO · management
consumerism
Preoccupation with acquiring goods
- advertisingPaid promotional communication
- brandingCreating distinctive identity
- materialismPrioritizing goods over spirit
shopping · retail · purchasing · products · goods · demand · marketing · planned obsolescence · fast fashion · Black Friday
billionaire
Person worth ten figures
- millionairePerson possessing great wealth
- tycoonDominant industrial leader
- magnateWealthy business leader
affluence · prosperity · inheritance · assets · fortune · opulence · luxury · mansions · yacht · accumulation
stocks
Ownership stakes or inventory
- tradingExchanging for value
- exchangeMutual giving and receiving
- commoditiesTradeable raw materials
shares · Wall Street · speculation · derivatives · futures · options · equities · securities · IPO · dividends
- ismssocialism, communism, anarchism, racism, atheism
- comparative historycolonialism, imperialism, revolutions, modernization, industrialization
- economic policymonetary policy, tax policy, fiscal discipline, fiscal stimulus, fiscal restraint
- Ideasidealism, materialism, empiricism, rationalism, liberalism
- political ideologiesconservatism, conservative, anarchism, liberalism, liberal
- business philosophiesfree market, lean, kaizen, agile, Six Sigma
capitalismcommunism
Collective ownership system
anticapitalism · socialism · command economy · Marxism · planned economy
capitalismcommunism
Collective ownership system
collective ownership · collectivism · public ownership · common ownership · communal ownership
capitalismcentral planning
Government directs all production
command economy · planned economy · statism · dirigisme · state control
- venture capitalistsStartup equity investors
- global capitalismInternational private ownership system
- crony capitalismEconomy favoring the connected
- vulture capitalistInvestor exploiting failing businesses
- capitalist societyEconomy built on private ownership
- late capitalismMature market-dominated era
capitalist, capitalize, capitalization, capitalists, capitalized, capitalizing, capitalistic, capitalizes, anticapitalism