Pastor Doug Wilson summarizing a book by author Rodney Stark:
In Rodney Stark’s very fine book, The Victory of Reason, he notes a problem with using the word “capitalism” in discussions of economics. He says capitalism “is very difficult to define, having originated not as an economic concept but as a pejorative term first used by nineteenth century leftists to condemn wealth and privilege. Adapting the term for serious analysis is a bit like trying to make a social scientific concept out of ‘reactionary pig” (p. 55). Nonetheless, despite this difficulty, Stark accurately summarizes three essential elements of capitalism.
They are: 1. Free markets; 2. Secure property rights; and 3. Free labor. When those who have goods to sell, and those who seek goods to buy, are free to seek one another out to arrange for a price and transaction without the interference of third parties, particularly from the government, we have a free market. When men and women are secure in their ownership of property — and can predict with relative accuracy what will be still theirs five years from now, a secure foundation for economic cooperation is laid. But if ownership is up for grabs every time the legislature is in session, then economic investment is stifled.