is capitalism the same as free enterprise 
capitalism and free enterprise are often seen as synonymous in truth they are closely related yet distinct terms with overlapping features it is possible to have a capitalist economy without complete free enterprise and a free market without capitalism any economy is capitalist as long as private individuals control the factors of production however a capitalist system can still be regulated by government laws and the profits of capitalist endeavors can still be taxed heavily free enterprise can roughly be understood to mean economic exchanges free of coercive government influence the bottom linecapitalism is an economic and political system where trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit its core principles are accumulation ownership and profiting from capital in its purest form capitalism works best when these private owners have assurances that the wealth they generate will be kept in their own pocket which is often a controversial proposition capitalism is the dominant world economic system although it often isn t pure in form in many countries interventions from the state a core trait of socialism are frequent businesses are able to chase profit but within the boundaries set by the government most political theorists and nearly all economists argue that capitalism is the most efficient and productive system of exchange 