Capitalism

Economic system based on private owner-
ship ofthe means of production and distri-
bution, free trade, open competition in
both products and labor, and motivation
by profit.

Capitalism has existed through-
out history, and regional elements of
capitalism may have connected in a world
economy in the thirteenth century
spreading, from China to Europe. Capital-
ism became common in Italian cities in the
fifteenth century during the Renaissance,
and later spread with European hegem-
ony. In capitalist systems, workers are paid
a wage for their labor but do not own what
they produce, and prices are based on
supply and demand rather than being set

Fonte: The Greenwood dictionary of world history.