The Probelm With Capitalism

[Silent3]

54. I guess a bunch of words need qualification

First of all, talking about "natural" here might seem odd if you contrast that to "artificial". By "natural" in this case, I mean tending to arise spontaneously and organically from given conditions, without the need to organize or force a particular outcome.

"System" can be an ambivalent word too, and I certainly go with the common language usage at times myself too, refering to capitalism as a "system". But the word "system" often has connotations of intent and design, of deliberate and organized institutionalization, that I don't think these are truly applicable to capitalism, which I see as more of a dynamic than a system.

I'll definitely agree with you that the idea of property rights has changed over time, but that change has mostly been a liberalization and democratization of the concept. In a feudal society, for example, land was owned by lords and kings, it wasn't often the kind of many commoners could hold as a personal possession. Capitalism has grown as the number of people who could own land and buildings and enterprises has grown.

As for "capitalism didn't pop up multiple times independently"... certainly market systems have, and I'd even venture to say there has been a bit of low-powered capitalism going back thousands of years, with merchants and artisans and craftsman. To the extent that these people could own the tools of their trade, hire apprentices, and sell their wares and services at market value, I'd say that counts as a certain level of capitalist dynamic, limited from growing greatly in scale mostly by low technology and pushy monarchs.