There is a big misconception out there that Capitalism only means economic freedom in a Nation. This is something that even some people that claim to support free markets say about the system. Libertarians tend to push Capitalism as "the economic freedom." However, this is dead wrong as Economic Freedom is the outcome of Capitalism itself. Economic freedom is simply a corollary of truly being free to begin with. Capitalism is both social and economic freedom it is not separate from the other. In fact, freedom to trade is not even really "economic" freedom at all it is merely one manifestation of personal freedom as pertains to the right to trade with others for mutual benefit to mutual advantage in a consensual manor. If you have a "market" quote un quote, but, then you are told what to eat or whom to date or whom to marry you are in an authoritarian nightmare not Capitalism.
The separation of Economic Freedom from the broader existence of the defense of individual rights leads to things like the nightmare of Anarcho-Capitalism to be seen as a freedom philosophy when it is the complete opposite. It helps make especially libertarians to be incoherent and philosophically deadly. This is yet another reason that one needs to differentiate between supporting any individual Libertarian Party, institute, group or Individual Candidate for matters of implementing policy VS supporting libertarianism the intellectual movement. Due to their lacking a coherent philosophy or a dedication intellectually to reality or reason there is no "reason" for them to see the error of their way of seeing Capitalism as only Economic freedom scales.
This is one of the big differences from a broader Radical for Capitalism or even Classical Liberal from the libertarian movement. While some Classical Liberals make the same mistake it at least is not ingrained in the movement or the intellectual caste of the group. This is of course a major difference between Objectivists and Non-Objectivists as well in talking about freedom and Capitalism in general. As Objectivism IS a coherent and reality based philosophy it talks about Capitalism as it really is. Which is that it is in fact the only moral social system that could ever "grace" this Earth. This is because an Objectivist whom really understands their Philosophy has a coherent whole of views that all go together in a hierarchy that fit together into reality based concepts. Whereas most, but, not all libertarians are whim worshiping and subjectivist at heart. They in a fact take NAP this NAP as an abstraction and do not know how to defend the soul use of defensive force.
This is spurned on because a lot of them while talking about supporting Capitalism do not even fully understand the breadth of what Capitalism is and means. What Capitalism is, is not just economic freedom as a lot of libertarians word it. It is in fact the identity of the only truly humane, free and just; AKA Moral Social System it is in fact defined as follows;
Capitalism is a social system based on the recognition of individual rights, including property rights, in which all property is privately owned.
The recognition of individual rights entails the banishment of physical force from human relationships: basically, rights can be violated only by means of force. In a capitalist society, no man or group may initiate the use of physical force against others. The only function of the government, in such a society, is the task of protecting man’s rights, i.e., the task of protecting him from physical force; the government acts as the agent of man’s right of self-defense, and may use force only in retaliation and only against those who initiate its use; thus the government is the means of placing the retaliatory use of force under objective control.
When I say “capitalism,” I mean a full, pure, uncontrolled, unregulated laissez-faire capitalism—with a separation of state and economics, in the same way and for the same reasons as the separation of state and church.
The moral justification of capitalism does not lie in the altruist claim that it represents the best way to achieve “the common good.” It is true that capitalism does—if that catch-phrase has any meaning—but this is merely a secondary consequence. The moral justification of capitalism lies in the fact that it is the only system consonant with man’s rational nature, that it protects man’s survival qua man, and that its ruling principle is: justice.
In a capitalist society, all human relationships are voluntary. Men are free to cooperate or not, to deal with one another or not, as their own individual judgments, convictions, and interests dictate. They can deal with one another only in terms of and by means of reason, i.e., by means of discussion, persuasion, and contractual agreement, by voluntary choice to mutual benefit. The right to agree with others is not a problem in any society; it is the right to disagree that is crucial. It is the institution of private property that protects and implements the right to disagree—and thus keeps the road open to man’s most valuable attribute (valuable personally, socially, and objectively): the creative mind.
The essence of capitalism’s foreign policy is free trade—i.e., the abolition of trade barriers, of protective tariffs, of special privileges—the opening of the world’s trade routes to free international exchange and competition among the private citizens of all countries dealing directly with one another.
Laissez-faire capitalism is the only social system based on the recognition of individual rights and, therefore, the only system that bans force from social relationships.
I would recommend anyone that wants a properly explained and essentially defined look at Capitalism to find their nearest copy of "Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal," by Ms. Rand. To buy up a copy as quickly as possible to remove any Hobgoblins and residuals from the Anti-Capitalist mentality in your defending of this great system. The only truly moral system for mankind qua mankind. The above passages are all Copyright Ms. Rand's estate and all rights are reserved to the owners of the Ayn Rand Lexicon website.
