Iceweasel
Diamond Member
If capitalism is controlled by the state it's fascism. But it isn't a misunderstanding at all. The left deliberately lies about what it is in order to forward socialism. That's why they insist on using the made up term unfettered capitalism, they put a qualifier on it and pretend that's what it is without state control.The problem with these threads is always the same. The term "capitalism" does not include the grand enchilada that many people tend to attribute to it. The same is true for socialism, fascism, communism, etc. The result is that when 20 people engage in a discussion they're going to be talking about 12 different enchiladas, and invariably fail to find sufficient common ground to support a debate.
In this thread, most people have once again made the wrong assumptions because they are confusing capitalism with free markets.
The defining feature of capitalism has to do with ownership of the fruits of labor, i.e. profits. In capitalism, ownership of profits stems from supplying the capital. Hence, the name capitalism. If I own the capital that it took to produce a watermelon, then I own the product. That is where capitalism ends. What comes next is no longer about capitalism and is about the free market.
In a free market, I get to decide what I'm going to do with any watermelon that I happen to own. If I want to sell it, I can. If I want to eat it, I can. If I choose to sell it, I can charge whatever price I want. If someone agrees to buy at the price I choose to charge, then the price is adequately fair to all people who matter (the buyer and seller).
Capitalism does not require a free market to exist, nor does a free market require capitalism to exist.