I notice anarchist and youtube vlogger brainpolice2 also uses the words capitalism and free market differently. He thinks that under the conditions of market anarchism there will be no capitalism as Rand defined it. From what I understand, he thinks of capitalism as some kind of statist appropriation of private property. How does Rand define capitalism and how to mutualists differentiate the concept of free market from that of capitalism?
Rand defines capitalism as a rationalist egoistic individualist philosophy whose political application is a night watchman minarchy with a strong military, foreign policy of self interest and the pursuit of selfish ends through man’s mind. Mutualists classify modern industrial society as fundamentally corrupt, not simply distorted by government intervention, and built on a legacy of slavery, racism and subjugation. They term this system “capitalism”, though others prefer it to be called “fascism”, “corporatism” or “crony capitalism”.
Well-said. I think the term “capitalism” really was made up by Karl Marx, and of course it was meant to be derogatory. It’s not just mutualists (although Carson is a prominent adovcate of “free market anti-capitalism”), but many anarchists believe that, essentially:
Free Market != Capitalism
On this note, William Coleman writes (IMO, convincingly) that a free market is a place where no capitalist wants to be:
The basic error is that the Left identifies capitalism with capital. To the economist the critical feature of capitalism is the free market. It is the free market that economists champion. And, contrary to Marxist mythology, a free-market is not some sort of capitalist bliss point. It is, in fact, a point where no capitalist wants to be, if they could help it. Consider various policies that would be part of realising a free market:
Abolition of a wage minimum. This may be improving for capital, but it is never optimal for any capital interest: the capitalist would always prefer a legislated wage maximum to drive wages down below the free-market level.
Free immigration. This is never optimal to any capital interest: they would prefer immigration subsidised, and emigration taxed (or prohibited).
Abolition of a rent maximum. This is never optimal to a landowner: what landlords’ want is a rent subsidy, and restrictions on entry into the supply of rental property.
Enjoy!