What Is Capitalism?
Hint: It’s the opposite of free markets.
Conservatives believe the United States is a capitalist country, and they like it that way. They say government should stay out of people’s business, so free markets can create the best possible society. Anyone who advocates that government do more is labeled a socialist, a communist, or worse.
When we try to find such a free market, though, we see that capitalism in the U.S. does not mean free markets at all. It means government and markets run by people with capital, meaning big money and other financial assets, dedicated to making themselves richer.
We do have markets, but they are not free or fair. Powerful people and corporations fund and manage the politicians who make the markets’ rules. When those rules don’t serve the wealthy, government doesn’t enforce them or rushes to change them.
The stock market is a crooked casino
Recently, a group of small-time investors on Reddit started taking down two multibillion-dollar hedge funds, Citadel and Melvin Capital. The funds had been short-selling stock in the retail company GameStop.
Short-selling means borrowing stock and selling it, then buying it back later at a lower price to return it. If the stock goes down, you win; if it goes up, you…
