Capitalism

In a restricted sense, the term capitalism describes an economic system based on private property and in which the means of production (land, raw materials, tools) do not belong to the owners or producers. Capitalism is an economic system in which almost anything we need or want must be bought on the market, and in which most of us have nothing to sell but our labour. Capitalism is not a thing, but a social relation between capital and labour that divides humanity into two principal social classes: the capitalist class, or bourgeoisie, which owns the means of production (tools, resources, land), and the working class, or proletariat, which does not have access to the means of production and therefore must sell its own labour power, or ability to work. -Jeffery R. Webber, Beautiful Trouble

Characteristics of capitalism from a sociological point of view include:

1. Incessant search for profit through commercial exchange
2. The separation of producers and the means of production
3. The private (exclusive) and privative (depriving others) appropriation of wealth

Capitalism originated in northwestern Europe between the sixteenth and nineteenth century, and expanded from this region to the rest of the world through colonialism and imperialism. Capitalism's uncontrolled growth translates into an ever-increasing exploitation of people and nature. The many social and environmental consequences of capitalism are discussed on the page: anti-capitalist.

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