The capitalist verses socialist and the liberal verses conservative arguments can get tiring at times. The reason is that simple logic and actual meanings of words are distorted to make points according to what passions dictate. Lets look at a couple of the concepts.

The word capitalist is applied to people who believe in private transactions. One on one friendships are the driving force. A just value is set by the people who are  involved themselves. Someone who provides something professional is going to be worth more and we are willing to pay more for it. A service that requires little skill that we can do ourselves doesn’t warrant as much money but that doesn’t mean the friendship is less and the transaction isn’t useful. We are willing to pay more for what we perceive as beautiful and the person who produces it is rewarded. They get excited at the evolution of learning skills, showing art and being worth more to others. This is the foundation of a free society; free means the ability to make transactions with each other how we see fit.

A socialist believes that people aren’t capable to transact properly and need a tender. They look at an economy as a static thing. Money is the gauge they use for fairness. If someone has too much, they must have acquired it wrong. A social engineer or shepherd must redistribute it fairly. You can say that money is the driving force for this philosophy. The amount of money one has is examined first and then fairness is determined by the tender. Art and skill is secondary and the the proper application must be taught by them.

People apply terms in a way that they want to be perceived. I think in this case the words are reversed. A free market person is a true socialist since they believe in free and mutual social interaction and wealth is a result. Those who are called ‘socialists’ are really capitalists because they believe that having control of the money is key to producing good relationships in a society.