Why I hate capitalism

I am probably already getting angry comments being posted below this article, knowing my audience, but I ask that you hold your fire until you read my short complaint about the term "Capitalism".

"Capitalism" is a word with a tone of baggage. It is not sufficiently precise for its defenders and allows its detractors to label everything bad in the economic, political and social realm as that thing.

It is a label - popularised by its arch enemy (Marx) - that now describes "the System" as a whole - the good, the bad and the ugly.

To Mr or Miss Average, they hear this word as the descriptor or the whole damn soup of ideas that make up the mainstream economic narrative and ethos that currently pervades society.

I have had so many conversations with your "Average Joe" where something like this is said:

I just want to be free from Capitalism. This whole spend, spend, spend, buy, buy, buy, go into debt, keep the money flowing thing is really draining.

These aren't people that want a socialist revolution, but think the idea that they should be encouraged to buy stuff they don't want or need with money they don't have is "bullshit" and this is what they call "Capitalism".

Adam Smith would be rolling in his grave if he knew he would be blamed for this.

Then there are also those that equate Capitalism with Elitism (or those that rule over us). They see the cozy relationship between Big Government and Big Business and call that "Capitalism".

The fact that defenders of "Capitalism" have done a poor job of distancing themselves from "Consumerism" or "Corporatism" is part of the reason we ended up here.

Wanting to base economics on voluntary transactions is not the same as encouraging those transactions - and actually conflict to the extent that it would send a signal that something is more valuable - or correctly priced - than it is, which is the very thing that free markets do that defenders of Capitalism love them for.

A recent personal example is if it weren't for the NSW voucher system, I would never had spent money (or at least as much as they asked for) on "discovering" Vaucluse House from the inside. Encouraged consumption meant I spent money on a experience I didn't need and more importantly my purchase gave the vendor false information, it said that their price was right.

Crony capitalism or corporatism is merely a form of socialism for the well-to-do (or at least well-to-do because they are subject to preferential treatment by governments).

I really don't like the word "Capitalism" and invariably means that it's defenders are required to launch a defense of the whole grab-bag of things that currently make up "the System" - or at least that is what the average person hears.

It is a term - much like neo-liberalism - that is bandied about by many different types of people, with many different complaints, to mean many different things, but all of which are negative.

There are bad aspects to the current economic narrative that I would much rather join the masses in their complaints. I agree that the ethos of encouraged-over-consumption and the cozy relationship between Big Business and Big Government is indeed "bullshit".

But it is also undeniable that the economic systems based on voluntary exchanges are also generally the ones in which people would rather live.

We need a word that doesn't throw out the baby but does discard the bathwater that the word "Capitalism" seems to have.

Any ideas?