tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20943181.post1259901768130733519..comments2023-08-25T10:49:59.802-04:00Comments on One Reality: LTE to WSJStephen Bourquehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13699468585645166392noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20943181.post-14443692281533221692008-03-24T10:10:00.000-04:002008-03-24T10:10:00.000-04:00"The past six days have shaken American capitalism...<I>"The past six days have shaken American capitalism."</I><BR/><BR/>This raises an important question: What <I>is</I> capitalism? <BR/><BR/>Ask five people and get at least five answers. I note that Ayn Rand defines this term/idea as a certain kind of "social system," one in which the government is delimited to protecting individual rights, <I>and</I> one in which all property is privately owned.<BR/><BR/>I do not understand why capitalism should be defined as a <I>social</I> system rather than (more narrowly) as a <I>political</I> system as the essential (causal) characteristic of that society.<BR/><BR/>What is clear, however, is that in Objectivism "capitialism" does not refer to any particular economic arrangement (everyone is free to join a commune if they want to) and certainly not to a concrete-bound defintion such as "an economic community of big businesses." The latter seems to be the definition assumed by the article writer quoted above.Burgess Laughlinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13865479709475171678noreply@blogger.com