What does capitalism mean?
Word: Capitalism
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Capitalism means an economic system in which businesses and property are owned by private people and companies, who run them to make a profit.
Synonyms: free enterprise
Antonyms: socialism, communism
How do you spell capitalism?
Syllables: cap - i - tal - ism
Tricky part: The middle is tal, as in capital city, not tol as in the Capitol building in Washington.
Watch out for: capitolism, capatalism, capitalisim
Memory tip: Capital, or money, is what a business owner puts to work; that capital keeps its tal, just like the capital city of a state.
Capitalism in a sentence
Example 1: Under capitalism, companies compete to sell better and cheaper products.
Example 2: Our social science chapter compared capitalism with other economic systems.
Example 3: Many people argue about the good and bad sides of capitalism.
Fun Fact
Adam Smith's book The Wealth of Nations, published in 1776, is often seen as the starting point of free-market thinking, yet Smith never used the word capitalism.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Makeup
Choose the suffix that completes the word:
capital____
a) isum
b) ism
c) issm
d) izm
Show answer
b) ism. Ism names a system or belief, as in tourism and heroism.
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the correctly spelt word:
a) nationallism
b) capitalism
c) journelism
d) patriottism
Show answer
b) capitalism. Journalism has al after journ, nationalism keeps one l, and patriotism has one t.
Mingle-Mangle
Form a meaningful word from the jumbled letters:
mailstipac
a) capitalist
b) catapult
c) capitalise
d) capitalism
Show answer
d) capitalism. The m settles it: capitalist, capitalise and catapult have none.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. In a capitalist country, who usually sets the price of a new phone?
a) the shops that repair phones
b) the head of the army
c) the company that makes and sells it
d) a committee of schoolteachers
Show answer
c) the company that makes and sells it
2. Which person is acting most like a capitalist?
a) Ella, who volunteers at a village school
b) Ella, who studies history at college
c) Ella, who votes in the local election
d) Ella, who puts her savings into a bakery
Show answer
d) Ella, who puts her savings into a bakery
