Capitalism

Capitalism is an economic system in which the means of production are privately owned and operated for profit, usually in competitive markets. There is no consensus on the precise definition of capitalism, nor on how the term should be used as a historical category. There is, however, little controversy that private ownership of the means of production, creation of goods or services for profit in

a market, and prices and wages are elements of capitalism. Some define capitalism as a system in which all the means of production are privately owned, and some define it more loosely as one in which merely "most" are in private hands. Private ownership in capitalism implies the right to control property, including the determination of how it is used, who uses it, whether to sell or rent it, and the right to the revenue generated by the property. However, there may be an abandonment period of time, after which resources return to unowned status. An economic system that relies on private property and market relations but also contains a significant degree of government intervention is sometimes called a mixed economy. Capitalism, as a deliberate economic system, developed incrementally from the 16th century in Europe, although proto-capitalist organizations existed in the ancient world, and early aspects of merchant capitalism flourished during the Late Middle Ages. Capitalism became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. Capitalism gradually spread throughout Europe, and in the 19th and 20th centuries, it provided the main means of industrialization throughout much of the world. Today the capitalist system is the world's dominant economic model.