Question: Does "capitalism" have Marxist roots? Should we use "free market economy" instead?
Answer: Interesting question, but I would say, ‘poisoned genealogy’ is not a good argument. Where the word came from is not as important as whether it is a good concept, a useful concept. Now, and there’s a good principle here: Don’t let your enemies take your stuff.
In this case, Capitalism is a very good word. Economically, capital, it means resources that are deployed for productive purposes; land, machinery and the most important resource, the individual human being taking charge of their life and becoming productive. I think that is a wonderful use, that concept of human capital. To say that individuals are responsible for themselves and that’s precisely what capitalism, the head, puts front and center.
I’d also say that free market capitalism is of course very good, but markets are slightly secondary. Markets are a social institution. People coming together to trade with each other, but it presupposes that you’ve got individuals who are taking charge of their own productivity. The individual capitalist is fundamental. Markets are secondary. So, I like capitalism a little more as a broader label.
Stephen R. C. Hicks is a Senior Scholar for The Atlas Society and Professor of Philosophy at Rockford University. He is also the Director of the Center for Ethics and Entrepreneurship at Rockford University.
Ele é autor de A Arte da Raciocínio: Leituras para Análise Lógica (W. W. Norton & Co., 1998), Explicando o pós-modernismo: Cepticismo e Socialismo de Rousseau a Foucault (Scholargy, 2004), Nietzsche e os nazis (Ockham's Razor, 2010), Vida empresarial (CEEF, 2016), Liberalismo Pro e Con (Connor Court, 2020), Arte: Moderno, Pós-moderno e Mais Além (com Michael Newberry, 2021) e Oito Filosofias da Educação (2022). Publicou em Business Ethics Quarterly, Review of Metaphysics, e The Wall Street Journal. Os seus escritos foram traduzidos em 20 línguas.
Tem sido Professor Visitante de Ética Empresarial na Universidade de Georgetown em Washington, D.C., Visiting Fellow no Centro de Filosofia e Política Social em Bowling Green, Ohio, Professor Visitante na Universidade de Kasimir the Great, Polónia, Visiting Fellow no Harris Manchester College da Universidade de Oxford, Inglaterra, e Professor Visitante na Universidade Jagiellonian, Polónia.
Os seus diplomas de licenciatura e mestrado são da Universidade de Guelph, Canadá. O seu doutoramento em Filosofia é da Universidade de Indiana, Bloomington, EUA.
Em 2010, ganhou o Prémio de Excelência em Ensino da sua universidade.
A sua série de podcasts Open College é publicada pela Possibly Correct Productions, Toronto. As suas palestras e entrevistas em vídeo estão online no CEE Video Channel, e o seu website é StephenHicks.org.
Instagram Takeover Questions:
Every week we solicit questions from our 100K followers on Instagram (a social media platform popular with young people. Once a month we feature Stephen Hicks' answers to select questions, transcripts below:
Também vários artigos, seleccionados pelo provável interesse do público objectivista: