What is capitalism?

Abstract

A foundational crisis in modern political economy stems from a tribal premise that treats wealth as a collective product and the individual as a national resource. This view fails to account for the rational nature of man, whose survival requires the exercise of an independent, volitional consciousness. Consequently, a social system consistent with human requirements must be based on the recognition of individual rights, specifically property rights, and the total banishment of physical force from human relationships. Capitalism constitutes this system, characterized by private ownership and voluntary association. In a free market, value is determined objectively through the sum of individual judgments, rewarding the productive intelligence of the innovator while simultaneously providing a non-sacrificial “intellectual bonus” to the rest of society. Economic progress is achieved through individual surplus and creative effort rather than forced privation or the pursuit of a nebulous “common good.” The moral validity of this system rests on its alignment with the human rational faculty and the principle of justice, rejecting the altruist-collectivist ethics that treat individuals as sacrificial instruments of the state. – AI-generated abstract.