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this post was submitted on 21 Jul 2023
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Asklemmy
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Sounds like Poly Sci homework. How about you answer the questions and post them here.
Sure. To me, ~~capitalism is any system that supports ownership of any property -- oil rigs, land, factories, assembly lines, burger machines, copyrights and patents, mines, farms, etc -- that is used to collect the products of another person's labor. (For example, when the oil rig worker is payed a wage, but the oil rig owner owns the oil that was pumped, that's capitalism.)~~
EDIT: Wolfhound pointed out that my definition ought to specify who is allowed to to control this property. And that's true.
Capitalism is any system that permits all people (or non-person entities) with sufficient wealth to own property -- oil rigs, land, factories, assembly lines, burger machines, copyrights and patents, mines, farms, etc -- that is used to collect the products of another person's labor. (For example, when the oil rig worker is payed a wage, but the oil rig owner or oil rig corporation owns the oil that was pumped, that's capitalism.)
The property used in the above manner is called capital, or private property. The person using it is called a capitalist.
As for whether it is conducive to workers controlling what they produce, my answer is that -- by definition -- capitalism allows someone else to control what workers produce. It does not guarantee a worker any power over what they produce, and in the majority of cases (where a worker must pay rent, health insurance, food, etc and cannot afford to start their own business or buy their own equipment) it actually pressures workers into situations where they do not control what they produce.
I really feel like this definition is fairly incomplete. All the traits you mentioned can also describe feudalism, but replacing "capitalist" with "noble", which is sanctioned and invested by other nobles or the suzerain. You could say that capitalism is "any system that supports private ownership of private property that is used to collect the products of another person's labor". With the mention that the private ownership can be asserted by either a person or an organized group of persons, but both private entities
Ah... good point. My description did nothing to distinguish capitalism from feudalism. There is necessity for some mention of who is allowed ownership of this form of property. (Or what is allowed ownership as is often the case.)
As for the word private though: I wanted to avoid more terms I would need to define that might obscure my definition. Also I'm not even sure what distinguishes private ownership from other kinds of ownership. Or what makes a private entity.
But thanks for the input. At some point I'll edit my definition.