Capitalism is "an economic system characterized by private or corporate ownership of capital goods, by investments that are determined by private decision, and by prices, production, and the distribution of goods that are determined mainly by competition in a free market"

As we can see from this definition, according to the Webster definition, there are two main characteristics for capitalism, both economic: a private ownership of capital goods and the role of the free market.

From the same source, Communism is seen as "a system in which goods are owned in common and are available to all as needed," but also "a totalitarian system of government in which a single authoritarian party controls state-owned means of production" and "a final stage of society in Marxist theory in which the state has withered away and economic goods are distributed equitably." In this sense, Communism also combines political and historical elements with...
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