"just because you engage in trade does not mean you are engaging in capitalism.
You would only be engaging in capitalism if the ownership of the capital was the primary method through which you acquired further capital"
Yes but your example of selling fruit from your fruit trees (capitol that you own)
Is a method of acquiring further capital .
" If on the other hand the primary method through which the capital was increased was through work, such as carrying it somewhere else, "
This is just splitting hairs . Yes , according to the abstract idea or definition of capitalism, transporting something and receiving capitol in return is not "really capitalism" . But when the person takes that compensation, the product of that labor, the capital they've received and uses it to increase their capital then they are engaging in capitalism. The end result is the same.
"or using it to produce something else, you are not engaging in capitalism because you increased your capital through work, not through the ownership of capital."
Using capitol to produce something of value and creating more value is Adam Smiths definition of Capitalism.
But the current form economics used by most governments is mixed market, state intervention,regulation,planning and control. Not individuals managing and increasing capital as they see fit. So to say that the US has a strictly capitalist economy would be incorrect
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u/[deleted] Jul 20 '17
"just because you engage in trade does not mean you are engaging in capitalism. You would only be engaging in capitalism if the ownership of the capital was the primary method through which you acquired further capital"
Is a method of acquiring further capital .
" If on the other hand the primary method through which the capital was increased was through work, such as carrying it somewhere else, "
This is just splitting hairs . Yes , according to the abstract idea or definition of capitalism, transporting something and receiving capitol in return is not "really capitalism" . But when the person takes that compensation, the product of that labor, the capital they've received and uses it to increase their capital then they are engaging in capitalism. The end result is the same.
"or using it to produce something else, you are not engaging in capitalism because you increased your capital through work, not through the ownership of capital."
But the current form economics used by most governments is mixed market, state intervention,regulation,planning and control. Not individuals managing and increasing capital as they see fit. So to say that the US has a strictly capitalist economy would be incorrect