• SuckMyWang@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    2
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    11 months ago

    So what’s the difference between capitalism and markets? I would have thought the freer the market the more capitalistic it was, not so much that there’s a separation of the two.

    • Cowbee@lemm.ee
      cake
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      3
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      11 months ago

      Ownership of Capital. Capitalism has markets, but not all market systems are Capitalist.

      Market Socialism, for example, has competing worker-owned entities like Co-operatives in a market system, with no Capitalists.

      Capitalism is a relatively new phenomena in the grand scheme of things.

      • SuckMyWang@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        11 months ago

        Can a cooperative compete in a capitalist market? As in shouldn’t the better system win out in a free market?

        • Cowbee@lemm.ee
          cake
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          2
          arrow-down
          1
          ·
          11 months ago
          1. Kind of. The market can have Capitalist entities and Socialist entities, but the market itself isn’t Capitalist.

          2. Not necessarily. Co-operatives are more difficult to start in a predominantly Capitalist system, and Capitalist entities usually can exploit their workers more in order to gain temporary competitive advantage. I don’t believe this is sufficient reasoning to value Capitalism over Socialist entities.

          I’m not a Market Socialist, for clarification, as I do think there are issues. However, Capitalism isn’t markets.