@cykonot @Huntn00 @MichaelTBacon @mapachin In the most technical sense, “capitalism” is about capital, or the way money reflows from a lot of people into an aggregation that can be used to accomplish a larger result than any of the participants could on their own. “Capital” is Latin for “head”, so the body of revenue forms a gathered head aimed toward a goal.
@cykonot @Huntn00 @MichaelTBacon @mapachin There is of course much more to it than that, but the flow of money into aggregation is the primary principle of capitalism. The term does not explicitly demand a market economy or voluntary participation, but those are concepts that are normally applied to it. The “voluntary” aspect is portrayed by some as crucial, but then excuses are made for why the big players should be in control.
@cykonot @Huntn00 @MichaelTBacon @mapachin In a very real sense, “capitalism” is used by whomever to support whatever they want it to mean, so it is a highly diluted word. We think of “communism” as being autocratic, but the underlying principles would not trend that way (in an ideal world), and the capitalistic ideal of aggregating toward a larger goal is present there as well.