Capitalist [kap-i-tuh-list] (noun): A person who operates within a capitalist system, characterized by the ownership or control of the means of production, distribution, and exchange exclusively for private profit rather than state control or communal ownership. Capitalists are individuals who accumulate capital, invest in capital-intensive industries, and profit from the surplus value generated by the labor of others.
In capitalist economies, the capitalist class is composed of owners, shareholders, entrepreneurs, and investors who direct and manage the production process. They typically seek opportunities to generate wealth and maximize their returns through investment and entrepreneurship. Capitalists rely on competition, market forces, and the laws of supply and demand to determine prices, wages, and resource allocations.
Capitalists are proponents of free-market capitalism, advocating for individual economic freedom, limited government interference, and private property rights. They believe that economic growth and development are spurred by profit motives and incentivize innovation, efficiency, and productivity.
Critics of capitalism argue that it exacerbates income inequality, exploits workers, and fosters social and economic disparities. They advocate for more equitable economic systems with a stronger emphasis on communal ownership, wealth redistribution, and social welfare.
The term "capitalist" can also refer more broadly to the ideology, system, or society that upholds and operates under the principles of capitalism, where market forces, private ownership, and profit motives drive economic activity.
