capitalism
noun
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Communism, Socialism, Capitalism, and Democracy
Communism, socialism, capitalism, and democracy are all among our top all-time lookups, and user comments suggest that this is because they are complex, abstract terms often used in opaque ways. They're frequently compared and contrasted, with communism sometimes equated with socialism, and democracy and capitalism frequently linked.
Part of the confusion stems from the fact that the word communism has been applied to varying political systems over time. When it was first used in English prose in the mid-19th century, communism referred to an economic and political theory that advocated the elimination of private property and the common sharing of all resources among a group of people; in this use, it was often used interchangeably with the word socialism by 19th-century writers.
The differences between communism and socialism are still debated, but generally English speakers use communism to talk about the political and economic ideologies that find their origin in Karl Marx’s theory of revolutionary socialism, which advocates a proletariat overthrow of capitalist structures within a society; societal and communal ownership and governance of the means of production; and the eventual establishment of a classless society. The most well-known expression of Marx’s theories is the 20th-century Bolshevism of the U.S.S.R., in which the state, through a single authoritarian party, controlled a society’s economic and social activities with the goal of realizing Marx’s theories. Socialism, meanwhile, is most often used in modern English to refer to a system of social organization in which private property and the distribution of income are subject to social control. (The term is also often used in the phrase democratic socialism, which is discussed here.)
Communism and socialism are both frequently contrasted with capitalism and democracy, though these can be false equivalencies depending on the usage. Capitalism refers to an economic system in which a society’s means of production are held by private individuals or organizations, not the government, and where products, prices, and the distribution of goods are determined mainly by competition in a free market. As an economic system, it can be contrasted with the economic system of communism, though as we have noted, the word communism is used of both political and economic systems. Democracy refers not to an economic system but to a system of government in which supreme power is vested in the people and exercised through a system of direct or indirect representation which is decided through periodic free elections. (For discussion about whether the United States is accurately described as a democracy or as a republic, see the discussion here.)
Readers should consult the individual entries for a full treatment of the various ways in which each of these four words is used.
Examples of capitalism in a Sentence
Terry Eagleton, Harper's, March 2005
The United States has assumed a global burden—not just fighting terrorism and rogue states, but spreading the benefits of capitalism and democracy …
—Brian Urquhart, New York Review Of Books, 9 Oct. 2003
The city was then the great maw of American capitalism.
—Christopher Hitchens, Atlantic, August 2002
I am not the first to point out that capitalism, having defeated Communism, now seems to be about to do the same to democracy. The market is doing splendidly, yet we are not, somehow.
—Ian Frazier, On The Rez, 2000
Even Cuba's famed health-care system has been unable to resist the siren song of capitalism. The Frank Pais Hospital … now offers "for pay" surgery to foreigners.
—Ann Louise Bardach, Vanity Fair, March 1995
Lawrence Dow, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 13 Feb. 2025
Or in the case of Polanski’s, of the Hey-nothing-personal malevolence of late-model capitalism?
—Jim Shepard, New York Times, 12 Feb. 2025
When enmeshed with capitalism, genius fosters almost inordinate ambition and grants the kind of power that few would turn down but even fewer should wield.
—Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 10 Feb. 2025
Manipulating the retail and restaurant markets gives an unfair competitive advantage over our current stock of great retail and restaurants created by the free market supply and demand model of capitalism without taxpayer subsidies.
—Matt Lehman, Twin Cities, 8 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for capitalism
Cite this Entry
“Capitalism.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/capitalism. Accessed 5 Mar. 2025.
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capitalism
noun
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