Merits and demerits of capitalism

Answer 1

The merits of Capitalism are not theoretical, Capitalism give each individual the ability to be rewarded for their effort to whatever degree they can rise to. The only limits are on the individual's desire and commitment. This utilizes the inherent selfish motive in man to preserve himself and turns it into something that benefits the entire community. I want a well kept house because the value is greater for me, but my neighbor benefits from my well kept house as well in his property values. If I provide a product or service for less that a competitor I will have more customers and prosper more than I would with a very high price and few customers. The customer benefits from a low price and I benefit from a prosperous business.

The demerits of Capitalism would be the ability to become so successful in a given area of commerce that you have no competition to act as a check and balance to how the business conducts itself.

This is know as a monopoly, Capitalist countries pass laws to prevent monopoly's from controlling market sectors because competition is a necessary component in making Capitalism work for the people.

Capitalism is actually not a "system" it is what happens in the absence of a "system"