basis of capitalism?

[afterzir]

~ praxeology axiomatically asserts that man acts purposefully -->

a) man has goals

b) man tries to achieve those goals

c) man uses 'tools' to help him/her achieve those goals

~ in terms of having an effect:

- you can't control what goals a person has (a is unaffected)

- you can't control whether or not a person achieves their goals (b is unaffected)

- but you can control the tools that a person has access to, though

~ example:

you can't control if someone wants to be a famous doctor or not

you can't control if they cure cancer or not 

but you can lend medical books, etc. to help the person

~ so since c) is the only one able to be affected,

you want a system centered around tool optimization

(note: money is a special tool; the tool of tools)

~ this means efficiently allocating tools, honing tools (like skills, knowledge, ...), etc.

[capital is really just another name for tools after all]

 

Is this the basis for capitalism, or does something else underlie it (like property rights)? 

[Daniel Unplugged]

Property rights are necessary for capitalism. According to one definition, capitalism refers to private ownership of the means of production, so yeah, property rights are a must. To me, the basis for capitalism is freedom. I consider capitalism a manifestation of freedom. When people are free to own capital, some people will exercise that right and acquire some capital. Some people will not. Either choice is acceptable, what is important is that people are free to choose how they wish to live their own lives.

 

Another way I can put it is this:

 

1. Slavery is immoral, therefore I oppose it.

2. Therefore every person owns themself.

3. Therefore every person owns the product of their labor.

4. Therefore every person may use the product of their labor as they see fit.

5. Therefore every person may purchase capital if they wish to.

 

Addition to post:

 

I decided I wanted to make something more obvious.

 

6. Therefore if a person opposes capitalism, they are supporting slavery.

[WasatchMan]

I agree with Daniel, capitalism is a moral stance not a pragmatic one (it just happens to be the most practical as well).

[Wuzzums]

~ so since c) is the only one able to be affected,

you want a system centered around tool optimization

(note: money is a special tool; the tool of tools)

~ this means efficiently allocating tools, honing tools (like skills, knowledge, ...), etc.

[capital is really just another name for tools after all]

 

 

There's no such thing as an universal tool. A hammer can be well suited for one job and inadequate for another. Or money, for me digital currency is far superior to paper but for my grandparents it is not. People have to be let to choose what tool to use according to their preferences and needs. I'm always weary of the word "allocating" (though your meaning of the word might be different than mine). You said it yourself, you can't change a person's goals (or preferences) therefore you cannot allocate tools.

 

What capitalism does is to make all sorts of tools available and let each individual decide which best suits their needs.

[shirgall]

~ praxeology axiomatically asserts that man acts purposefully -->

a) man has goals

b) man tries to achieve those goals

c) man uses 'tools' to help him/her achieve those goals

~ in terms of having an effect:

- you can't control what goals a person has (a is unaffected)

- you can't control whether or not a person achieves their goals (b is unaffected)

- but you can control the tools that a person has access to, though

~ example:

you can't control if someone wants to be a famous doctor or not

you can't control if they cure cancer or not 

but you can lend medical books, etc. to help the person

~ so since c) is the only one able to be affected,

you want a system centered around tool optimization

(note: money is a special tool; the tool of tools)

~ this means efficiently allocating tools, honing tools (like skills, knowledge, ...), etc.

[capital is really just another name for tools after all]

 

Is this the basis for capitalism, or does something else underlie it (like property rights)? 

 

This build-up is missing another component: assets. A person's assets include knowledge, skills, attitude, possessions, and time. The essence of capitalism is trading assets for gain. Property rights are an abstraction of the idea that a person owns his assets and that they should not be expropriated lightly, and that a person is justified in working to prevent expropriation and is justified in taking back what has been wrongfully taken.

[luxfelix]

A true, but likely unhelpful (without unpacking), basis of capitalism is empirical reality.

 

Since only an individual has the means to use his/her body and mind, only they can express both use and title (the two properties often used to define ownership) of their primary interface with the world.

 

Anything created and/or developed from one's body/mind is then the product and property of the individual. (An important caveat to the former statement is that intellectual property is more like the negative space resulting from enforcement than an analog to empirical reality.)

 

In tangent; if capitalism is based on empirical reality then, in general, pursuit for clarity and accuracy in understanding how the world works should affect the efficiency and efficacy of capitalism as an ethical (voluntary) system for resource use.