I see a flaw in that comparison?
Capitalism has to do with capital; Socialism has to do with governance.
Capitalism exists in all forms of government. The difference is who controls your capital and your money, you or the government?
America's Constitution protects you and your property and encourages citizens to accumulate more property. Americanism allows the citizens to control their capital, not the government.
Which is why I prefer “Free Enterprise”.
Yes. I think people should grasp that more clearly than they do.
It’s always a market economy of Supply and Demand. Even in a “perfect” communist state, they will produce only X amount of bread and have to distribute it to Y number of people. That’s a Supply and Demand equation right there.
“Capitalism” in one form or another is everywhere. If a railroad needs to be built, or a steel factory built, then capital resources need to be applied to that problem. China, Russia, USA — it’s true everywhere.
As you point out, the really key issue can be simply summed up: “Who controls your capital?” Is it the Individual? Or the Collective?
And we know by know that Individuals will work hard if they are really earning capital. But the Collective? No one works very hard in a Collective — they figure other people are probably working hard ... so they don’t need to bother.
You get shortages whenever the Collective is in control.
Fichte, while not writing explicitly about capitalism (since the system hadn’t fully developed during his time), did critique individualism and self-seeking behavior, which are central to later criticisms of capitalism. His emphasis on the collective good over individual self-interest reflects concerns that align with critiques of capitalist systems.
One relevant quote from Fichte that can be interpreted as a condemnation of capitalism and self-seeking is: "Self-seeking has destroyed itself by its own complete development." This quote, from Addresses to the German Nation (1808), illustrates Fichte’s belief that selfishness, when fully realized, leads to its own downfall.
This reflects his concern that individualism and personal profit-seeking undermine the moral and social fabric of society.
Not entirely true. There are taxes on both wealth and income in the US and, if some leftist get their way, there will be a tax on unrealized income (e.g., tax on potential capital gains).
Capitalism has to do with capital; Socialism has to do with governance.
No. Both are concerned with the control of capital. One promotes free ownership of the factors of production the other promotes gov't ownership of those factors. Yo9u recognize this in your 3rd paragraph.