Is any monetary production economy capitalism? If capitalism is the individual capitalist in control of production, as in the late 1800's, then is modern megacorp capitalism, capitalism? If both robber baron capitalism and megacorp capitalism are capitalism, would syndicalist capitalism be capitalism? How much direct production can be provided by state institutions before its not precisely capitalism anymore? Or is it pure capitalism if the production by the state is all complements to private production?

I think that capitalism is probably best understood as a term that is narrower than a monetary production economy in general. However, since all the monetary production economies that we have experience with are capitalist, more or less, it might be harder to envision a monetary production economy that is not organized on capitalist lines, or else one where the capitalist portion of the private economy is just one part among many.


I've been accused of being a Marxist, yet while Harpo's my favourite, it's Groucho I'm always quoting. Odd, that.