Capitalism is an economic and political system in which property, business, and industry are owned by private individuals and not by the state.
...the return of capitalism to Hungary.
Synonyms: private enterprise, free enterprise, private ownership, laissez faire or laisser faire More Synonyms of capitalism
capitalism in British English
(ˈkæpɪtəˌlɪzəm)
noun
Also called: free enterprise, private enterprise
an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange, characterized by the freedom of capitalists to operate or manage their property for profit in competitive conditions
Compare socialism (sense 1)
capitalism in American English
(ˈkæpətəlˌɪzəm)
noun
1.
an economic system in which all or most of the means of production and distribution,as land, factories, communications, and transportation systems, are privately owned and operated in a relatively competitive environment through the investment of capital to produce profits: it has been characterized by a tendency toward the concentration of wealth, the growth of large corporations, etc. that has led to economic inequality, which has been dealt with usually by increased government action and control
2.
the principles, methods, interests, power, influence, etc. of capitalists, especially of those with large holdings
COBUILD Collocations
capitalism
global capitalism
Examples of 'capitalism' in a sentence
capitalism
The moth was more of a threat to global capitalism.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
If his existential enemy is modern capitalism, his intellectual foe is the liberal apologist.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
Most feel that there is something profoundly wrong with global capitalism - but no one offers an easy alternative.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
It should strike a chord with all who wish to see modern capitalism serving broader human ends.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
It is part of the cycle of capitalism that businesses collapse.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
And he valued the great stability and freedom of democratic capitalism more than any theory or idea.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Socialism was not just an aesthetic but an alternative economic system to capitalism.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
The nature of capitalism in its competitive stage promoted such a compromise.
Henry, John F The Making of Neoclassical Economics (1990)
Note that the same charge could not have been made under conditions of competitivecapitalism.
Henry, John F The Making of Neoclassical Economics (1990)
It must remain a competitive centre of capitalism.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
This perspective emphasizes the production of housing and its integration into the financial and economic system of capitalism.
Forrest, Ray & Murie, Alan & Williams, Peter Home-ownership - differentiation and fragmentation (1990)
Western capitalism may be looking sickly.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Most economists agree that massive government spending is largely responsible for this improved performance of American capitalism.
Hunt, E. K. Property and Prophets: The Evolution of Economic Institutions and Ideologies (1995)
Such are the murky origins of modern Russian capitalism.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Thanks also to global capitalism, that freedom is not going away.
Christianity Today (2000)
The rise of global capitalism continues apace, in the strangest of places.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
It was based on a restructuring of American capitalism.
John Cassidy DOT.CON (2001)
But he also had it in for Western capitalism.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
It is not a crisis of global capitalism, but a failure of one sector within it.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
This book is concerned primarily with our present economic system, capitalism.
Hunt, E. K. Property and Prophets: The Evolution of Economic Institutions and Ideologies (1995)
I am appalled that so few serious business leaders stand up to defend business and capitalism in a coherent way.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
And it has consistently championed business success and capitalism in an enthusiastic way, which was always a recipe to appeal to the self-made.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
In other languages
capitalism
British English: capitalism /ˈkæpɪtəˌlɪzəm/ NOUN
Capitalism is an economic and political system in which property, business, and industry are owned by private individuals and not by the state.
Nobody ever said capitalism was fair.
American English: capitalism
Arabic: رَأْسُمالِيَّة
Brazilian Portuguese: capitalismo
Chinese: 资本主义
Croatian: kapitalizam
Czech: kapitalismus
Danish: kapitalisme
Dutch: kapitalisme
European Spanish: capitalismo
Finnish: kapitalismi
French: capitalisme
German: Kapitalismus
Greek: καπιταλισμός
Italian: capitalismo
Japanese: 資本主義
Korean: 자본주의
Norwegian: kapitalisme
Polish: kapitalizm
European Portuguese: capitalismo
Romanian: capitalism
Russian: капитализм
Latin American Spanish: capitalismo
Swedish: kapitalism
Thai: ระบบทุนนิยม
Turkish: kapitalizm
Ukrainian: капіталізм
Vietnamese: chủ nghĩa tư bản
All related terms of 'capitalism'
eco-capitalism
the theory or practice of a free-market economy in which natural resources are regarded as capital and profits are partially dependent on environmental protection and sustainability
crony capitalism
an economic system characterized by mutually beneficial relationships between politicians and business owners
global capitalism
Capitalism is an economic and political system in which property, business, and industry are owned by private individuals and not by the state.
state capitalism
a form of capitalism in which the state owns or controls most of the means of production and other capital: often very similar to state socialism
disaster capitalism
the practice (by a government, regime , etc) of taking advantage of a major disaster to adopt neoliberal economic policies that the population would be less likely to accept under normal circumstances
Chinese translation of 'capitalism'
capitalism
(ˈkæpɪtəlɪzəm)
n(u)
资(資)本主义(義) (zīběn zhǔyì)
(noun)
Definition
an economic system based on the private ownership of industry
the two fundamentally opposed social systems, capitalism and socialism