What is CAPITALISM and what are its characteristics?

He capitalism is an economic and social system in which resources and production are mainly in the hands of private companies with the aim of making profits. We tell you.

One of the most representative elements of the communist struggle with the rest of the world has been, without a doubt, due to the established world order or the prevailing economic system in society. Next, in this lesson from a TEACHER, we tell you What is capitalism and what are its characteristics?, in which we will also talk about its origins, the main systems that exist and the criticism it has received over time.

Index

1. What is capitalism and what are its main characteristics?
2. The origins of capitalism
3. The types of capitalist systems
4. Capitalism vs communism
5. What countries are capitalist in the world?
6. What is the opposite of capitalism?
7. The criticism received by capitalism

He capitalism is a social-economic system

Capitalism began to have influence after the Industrial Revolution, since it was the system that replaced the Old Regime so predominant in the Modern Age. Even so, we can say that the peak of the system has been at the end of the 20th century, since it is when a greater number of nations have followed this model.

Characteristics of capitalism

To better understand what we mean by capitalism, we must talk about its main characteristics, which will help us understand it. Therefore the main characteristics of capitalism are the following:

• Work is paid through money, therefore being the basis of the economy. Everything is consumed through money, operating with the law of supply and demand. In unProfesor we discover the history and evolution of money.
• The property is private, that is, each one has its own and individual property. Each person must take care of his or her property, with nothing existing as a whole for the entire society.
• Society is divided into so-called social classes, being divided depending on the economic level of each one.
• Money and property is the basis of the system, Therefore, the importance of people lies in the amount of capital they have, since this is what marks each person's social class.
• The businessman is the most important figure, being the one who rules over the workers, and the one who gets the greatest benefits. On the other hand, the worker is the labor force, and he receives less contribution by not risking capital.

Although there are many writings that affirm that capitalism emerged in the Middle Ages, It will not be until the 17th century when the steps for the creation begin to be taken. of this.

Firstly, in the Middle Ages, we must say that the commercial system began to be created, which During the Modern Age the capitalist system would originate. It is therefore that to speak of capitalism in the Middle Ages would be to fall into a profound error, since society was not so evolved. regarding the economy and its commercial relations did not have the same repercussions that we will find in the middle of the Age Modern.

It would be from that moment on when they began to create the first commercial companies who would dedicate themselves to creating an enormous network of networks to connect all parts of the known world, creating promissory notes and other forms of indirect payments. This would in turn lead to creation of a banking system much more complex that could sustain this new world system based on monetary power.

In this other lesson we discover the trade in the Middle Ages so you understand how they were organized then.

To continue with our simple definition of capitalism, we are now going to talk about the different systems that you can find. They are the following.

Mercantilism

It emerged in the 16th century, its main characteristic being the commercial interests that became priority of the State, being the one that will carry out all the necessary premises for the country to obtain benefits.

In this way they will give advantages to foreign powers so that they can create headquarters within their borders and thus be able to carry out trade at larger scale, an example of this can be found in Seville, where we will find foreign neighborhoods created by trade with Indians.

Free market

It is the next step towards capitalism, being the main characteristic the law of supply and demand. At this time the State only looks after the interests of private property, leaving trade to commercial companies.

Social market economy

The companies that are located within the State are largely private, therefore, the government, You only have to worry about the rights of the workers, to prevent employers from surpass This It is the system that we find in Western European countries.

We present to you the different types of capitalism that exist today.

Image: Comparative table

Capitalism and communism are two of the main economic systems in the history of humanity, being totally contrary, since they represent two ways of seeing the economy and society.

And to know the differences between them, we must list their Main differences, which are the following:

• In capitalism, property is private, while in communism, property is public, that is, everything belongs to everyone, since it is usually in the hands of the state.
• In capitalism the means of production belong to the entrepreneur, who gets richer than the rest, on the other hand in the communism the means of production belong to the state, so all people receive the same profits for their job.
• In capitalism, capital is individualized in each person, while in communism, capital is collective.
• In capitalism there are several political parties that compete in a democracy, while in communism there is only one party that represents communism.
• In capitalism there are social classes to divide society depending on their wealth, while in communism there is only one social class, since everyone is equal.
• In communism all services are public, since the state provides healthcare or education for everyone. In capitalism some services are public, but others must be paid for.

At unProfesor we discover the main differences between capitalism and communism.

At the moment, Virtually all countries in the world are capitalist. So to answer this question we would have to respond with a huge list of nations, which would make up the majority of existing nations.

Currently we can say that the only communist nations in the world are

• China
• Cuba
• North Korea
• Laos
• Vietnam

Therefore we can say that the rest of the nations in the world are capitalist, and iEven communist nations have numerous capitalist elements, since over the years they have adapted to a mixed system.

During decades, capitalism has been expanding throughout the world, becoming the only economic system on the entire planet. That is why all the countries in the world, except the 5 named, are capitalist. Some of its best representatives being Japan, the United States and the members of the European Union.

Although there is a tendency to think that the opposite of capitalism is communism, the reality is that there are various systems that are the complete opposite. than capitalism, since being a system it is so extensive and influential, with many mechanisms that have been created to try to replace it. Therefore, the main systems opposed to capitalism are the following:

• Communism: As we have already mentioned, it is a system focused on public property and the non-existence of social classes, which is why it is the complete opposite of capitalism.
• Anarchism: Large branches of anarchism considered that capitalist private property was contrary to human nature, causing them to refuse to accept capitalism. The main clash is the individualization of capitalism against collectivism on the part of anarchism.
• Fascism: Fascism was a firm defender of protectionism and intervention in the market, rejecting the free trade of capitalism, and therefore also being somewhat opposed.
• Distributism: An economic system based on the principles of the Catholic Church. Distributism advocated that property should be distributed as best as possible among all of society, rejecting the individual model of capitalism.

Within any social system, we will find a series of criticisms that at times are constructive, that is, they serve to improve some parts of the system that may fail. While others are destructive, that is, they only seek to end the model, without presenting a strong alternative to it.

One of the most criticized elements of this current, we can say without a doubt, is the great difference between the richest sectors of society and the poorest, which, with the passage of time, have increased, reaching levels that are too high. In this way, the two currents that have fought and continue to fight against this system are:

Marxism

Faithful defender of the interests of the workers, come unacceptable that cheap labor be used for the creation of large economic masses, which only affect a sector of the population, while the bulk of the population must be content with a salary, which is sometimes miserable, in addition to working in working conditions despicable Marxist thought was devised between the years 1848-1867, a period of industrialization of society, in which the working class was highly over-exploited.

Environmentalism

The use of natural resources by companies to produce their products, and the constant discharges made to nature are destroying the biodiversity that exists in our ecosystem. These types of groups, seeks the creation of sustainable development that prevents the rapid deterioration of Nature.

In this other lesson we offer you the summary biography of Karl Marx.

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