Should Libertarians Oppose “Capitalism”?
2nd March 2010
Bryan CaplanIf we were starting from scratch, I agree that it would be great to scrap both “capitalism” and “socialism.” Etymologically, capitalism does sound like a system of rule by capitalists for capitalists – and socialism sounds like a system of rule by society for society. Since neither etymological suggestion is true, I wish the terms had never been coined.
As Sheldon admits in his talk, however, changing words is like changing currencies. If they’re already widely accepted, you need a really good reason to abandon them. Awkward etymology notwithstanding, I think the concepts of capitalism and socialism are good enough to keep using.
picks a nit or two.