The Capitalist countries Are those whose system of social and economic organization is based on the private ownership of the means of production.
Currently, the capitalism Is the most widespread economic order of modern civilizations. Capital is the central factor of this whole system and consists of real estate, machinery, facilities, money, property and even labor forces.
Unlike other forms of organization, the role of the State is limited, it only regulates the legal provisions for companies to have freedom of action in the market.
The economic liberalism of John Locke, Adam Smith or Benjamin Franklin, is the theory that gave rise to capitalism.
Within this doctrine there are different branches, there are those who have more liberal positions and those who seek a combination with other models to give greater preponderance to the role of the State.
In this article, I bring you some of the most representative capitalist countries in the world and history.
31 Countries that represent Capitalism
1- United States
The United States could be considered the capitalist model par excellence. It is the main economy of the world, in a closed struggle with China, and is the main power of the West.
The process towards capitalism in the country began in the first half of the nineteenth century with the Factory system , The industrial system that expanded rapidly throughout the territory and all economic sectors.
Slowly, the United States began its commercial expansion, which gained momentum with Fordism (The series production system). After the World War, it established itself as a capitalist country, until it became the current power.
2- France
With the French revolution at the end of the eighteenth century and the arrival of the bourgeoisie to power, France began its capitalist history between political and economic ups and downs.
It is currently considered one of the most developed countries in the world for its quality of life. It is the ninth economy of the world. Although it has a broad base of private capital, state intervention is superior to that of other similar countries.
3- Japan
This country began its adaptation to capitalism towards the end of the 19th century, with the Meiji Restoration . This series of events triggered the abolition of feudalism and the adoption of some institutions similar to those of the West.
The Japanese expansion was affected after the Second World War, with the fall of two atomic bombs. However, from these, the Eastern power achieved levels of growth that make it the fourth economy in the world, behind the United States, China and India.
4- Germany
The case of this European country is usually explained as the"German miracle". It was the nation that was defeated in the two World Wars and from 1948, with the divided country, began its capitalist expansion.
After the reunification in 1990, Germany became the main economy of the continent and the fifth power in the world.
5- Italy
It was another of the world powers that began its more solid capitalist transformation after the Second World War. It went through a severe economic crisis at the beginning of the 21st century.
At present and thanks to its great industrial development, it is the eleventh economy in the world and the fourth in Europe.
6- Sweden
Although this Nordic country has a strong welfare state , Linked to socialism, its economy is capitalist. In addition, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), is one of the most advanced in the world.
From 1990, Sweden began its turn to the market economy, driven by an economic crisis and by the need to be able to obtain fruits of its timber production, hydraulic energy and iron.
7- The Netherlands
From the seventeenth century, this country began an economic transformation that was based on the opening of its legislation to take advantage of its strategic position.
Since the late 1980s, this process has been deepened by reducing the role of the state in favor of industrial and chemical activity.
8- England
The cradle of capitalism, as much for its theoretical production as for its historical economic liberalism and the industrial revolution of the nineteenth century.
Thanks to its great industrialization and strong service sector, it is the eighth largest economy in the world.
9- Belgium
It is a case similar to that of Holland, with whom the Netherlands forms. Densely populated and in an area of high industrialization, Belgium has a capitalist market economy.
It was the first European country to develop the industrial revolution and has one of the highest per capita income in the Old Continent.
10- Switzerland
It is a country with high economic freedom, considered as one of the most advanced and stable capitalist nations on the planet. As well, the second most competitive.
With a strong financial services sector and a highly developed industry, Switzerland has a flexible labor market with a low unemployment rate.
11- South Africa
It is part of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), a group of emerging nations. Its economy had a great development in the last decades, in spite of the great crises and health problems that had to face.
It is the main economy of Africa thanks to its natural resources, gold and platinum, and one of the 30 most important in the world.
12- Brazil
The South American giant is another member of the BRICS. It is the main economy of Latin America, second of the continent behind the United States and the seventh of the world.
His great industrial development, mining, manufacturing and services, together with his great work force, led him to overcome successive crises.
13- Mexico
It is one of the world's leading economies, occupying the tenth position in terms of Gross Domestic Product (PBI), But has the highest poverty rate in that group, with 42%.
14- Colombia
With a strong service sector, its economy has experienced strong growth since the 21st century and is now one of the emerging powers of the region and the world.
15- Luxembourg
It has the second GDP per capita in the world, behind Qatar. Its developed economy is mainly based on financial services, thanks to the fact that it has the most lax fiscal regimes in Europe.
16- United Arab Emirates
It is a sum of different emirates that make up one of the richest economies in the world.
With investment in oil development starting in the 1970s and a liberal economy, it has a high per capita income and one of the surplus Trade in the world.
17- Singapore
This nation bases its political system on a kind of replica of the English model and its economy is not alien to this. With a free market system, like the others " Asian Tigers "(Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan), has one of the highest GDP per person in the world.
Its main sources of income are exports and import refinement, with a developed industrial sector.
18- Spain
It began its transformation to capitalism with the Industrial Revolution in the nineteenth century but it was with a second industrializing wave in the twentieth century where it cemented its model.
Spain is one of the examples of which capitalism can fail, after successive crises in the last decades the country reached a stability that places it like the fourteenth world economy.
19- Greece
Another of the victims of capitalism, after a strong crisis and failed recipes from the world bodies put the country on the brink of bankruptcy in the first decade of the twenty-first century.
With a service-based economy it is among the 50 most powerful countries in the world and is the most developed in the Balkan region.
20- India
The adoption of capitalism in India began in the 1990s, after almost half a century of a socialist trial that failed.
With the change in the model and the opening of markets, the Asian country became one of the fastest growing countries today.
With a strong service sector, a developed industry, accompanied by strong agriculture and a large workforce of more than 500 million people, India is the third largest economy in the world. It is also part of the BRICS.
twenty-one- Argentina
Argentina is, along with Brazil, one of the South American giants, due to its size and economic activity. Nevertheless, its development never finished taking off and during the last two decades of century XX it experienced ferocious crises.
It is one of the main producers of soy and meat of the world And is part of the G20 , Which comprise the 20 world powers.
22- Chile
T The socialist essay on Salvador Allende In 1970, Chile turned to capitalism to become one of the most stable economies on Earth.
Despite a strong mining sector and a free market economy, it has high levels of inequality.
2. 3- Russia
In order to Cold War And the fall of the socialist and communist models, Russia emerged as a capitalist power thanks to the increase in oil prices.
24- Canada
It is one of the richest economies in the world, occupies the 13th place according to its GDP. Its free-market system is considered to be better than that of the United States and European powers.
With a developed industry and a thriving energy sector, Canada is one of the world's leading exporters.
25- Chad
This African country is one of the errors of capitalism. According to the UN, it is the fifth poorest nation in the world with 80% of the population below the poverty line.
Its economy is almost entirely based on agriculture, and in the last decade oil sector development began, but internal ethnic differences threaten any attempt to grow.
26- Iran
Iran is another case of countries whose capitalist economy emerged thanks to oil. It was in the twentieth century that this nation began its growth with the extraction, refinement and processing of crude oil products.
27- Malaysia
His model is similar to that of the"Asian Tigers", but with the difference that it lacks a solid base of labor, which slowed its development. Its economic system is based on mining, agriculture and the tertiary sector, services.
28- Peru
The Peruvian case is one of the most emblematic of today, with the second lowest index of inflation in the world and a level of growth comparable only with China.
With a free market economy and a strong mining sector, it is one of the most solid countries in the world and the sixth most important in Latin America.
29- South Korea
With a highly skilled workforce and a thriving industry, South Korea is one of the most developed economies in the world, thanks to its expansion in the late twentieth century.
Its ability to export high-quality manufactured goods, especially related to technology, make it the twelfth world economy.
30- Congo
It is considered the poorest capitalist country in the world. Despite the existence of large natural resources, especially miners, the Congo suffers internal conflicts that undermined its development potential.
31- Taste
It is currently the most powerful economy in the world. Until 1940, its economy was based on fishing and pearl collection, but the Boom Oil and gas gave it an unusual economic boost.
Some reflections on capitalism
Capitalism was the system of social and economic organization that replaced the feudal state. Etymologically it owes its name to the idea of capital and usufruct of private ownership of the means of production.
Traders and the market for the exchange of goods or services exist from the very origin of civilization, but capitalism as a doctrine arose in the seventeenth century in England.
The objective of the defenders of capitalism is the accumulation of capital, the profits that result from the products or services remain in the hands of the private capital owners of the means of production.
In this type of economy, the market plays a fundamental role, since it is there that the relations between the parties are established and the variables of the economy are governed.
The market, as a whole, depends on the interaction between supply and demand, on the exchange of goods in order to survive. In this scenario, the term competition is central, as it is what regulates markets economically.
Impellers
Milton Friedman . "If you want to hunt a thief, call another to catch him. The virtue of free enterprise capitalism is one that puts one employer against another, and that is the most effective method of control."
Friedrich Hayek . "It comes from the old idea of those who adopt the practices of the competitive market achieved greater population growth and displaced other groups that followed different customs... Only groups that behave according to that moral order can survive and prosper."
Detractors
Friedrich Nietzsche . "Look at those superfluous, they become rich and yet they become impoverished."
Karl Marx . "For capitalism, freedom means freedom of trade, freedom to buy and sell, not true freedom."