Exclusion

The goal of these articles is to differentiate between the free market and capitalism.

One way to judge the overall merits of an economic system is whether or not it is inclusive or exclusive. Does the economic structure assign a worthly role for all the people working in the economic structure? Or does the economic system relegate the majority of men to a lower position outside the main economy?

The system of slavery that existed in Ancient Greece, Roman and early America are examples of absolute exclusion. The slaves where physically and economically excluded from participation in the economy. The feudal system of Medeaval Europe forced the majority of people to live as serfs while only a few lived lives of extreme wealth and power.

The free market, on the other hand, is inclusive. The ideal behind the free market is that everyone is free to trade.

Capitalism is a system where people are ruled by money. There is a small number of people at the top who control the money. The vast majority of people do not have sufficient capital to participate in the economy in any meaningful way.

The capitalist leverages insider information and monopoly to further his power base. The majority of people just live on corporate and government handouts.

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