Capitalism  and  free markets  (or,  a market economy ) are two really basic, critical terms for libertarians, so much so that many consider the two terms synonyms. They aren't. The purpose of this article  is to examine definitions of capitalism, extract the consensus, and suggest that many of the key factors you need to understand the operation of  free market capitalism  are NOT included in the standard definitions. This will be the first installment of explaining why neither capitalism nor the State ever really act in the way you have been conditioned to believe they will. This is going to be long, because if I am going to piss you off to make you think, then I might as well take the time to do it right. Let's start with definitions of capitalism, initially relying on pretty standard libertarian sources: A proper beginning is with the man most associated with Austrian economics,  Dr. Ludwig von Mises , who defined the terms many times, and (as...

2013: one of my proudest moments in Delaware Libertarian history as my daughter Alexis (who was 17 at the time) joined the Libertarian Party of Delaware and activist Chuck Mead-e garnering signatures for marriage equality. From late 2007 to Spring 2014 I published The Delaware Libertarian , aided and abetted by an ever-changing cast of co-authors, at a time when blogs (at least in the First State) were the heart and soul of political activism on all points of the spectrum. Between 2011-2013, this blog was the second most widely read political blog in the State. If you care, there are over 3,500 posts in the archives covering (then) current political news on both State & national levels; lots of reporting on Libertarian candidates & party infighting; policy commentaries; analytical pieces; amateur science fiction; and a whole series on Thai Ladyboys and sexual slavery in Southeast Asia. Then life happened, and all of us here got -- not quite bored, but at least uninspired -- an...