CAPITALISM by Jessica McBirney

Context: An economic system refers to the way the money, industry, and trade of a country is organized. People often disagree about how economic systems around the world should work. Capitalism, the system used in the United States, tends to involve fewer rules from the government. Many people support capitalism, but some critics say that it is unfair and can prevent poorer people from improving their lives. As you read, pay attention to both the positive and negative traits of capitalism. Based on this context, what can readers predict?

Context: An economic system refers to the way the money, industry, and trade of a country is organized. People often disagree about how economic systems around the world should work. Capitalism, the system used in the United States, tends to involve fewer rules from the government. Many people support capitalism, but some critics say that it is unfair and can prevent poorer people from improving their lives. As you read, pay attention to both the positive and negative traits of capitalism. Capitalism is an economic system in which individual people make most of the decisions and own most of the property in a country. This is the system used in the United States today. In modern society, people who buy products or services are called consumers. For example, if Sidney purchases the new iPod, he bought a product and is a consumer. A product or service can be sold for money (profit). In the previous example, Sidney is a consumer because he bought something. The thing Sidney bought is called a product or good because it is for sale. Services can also be purchased. If Sidney wants to pay a lawyer for legal services to fight a traffic ticket, the service he paid for is the lawyer's knowledge and help fighting the ticket. Goods and services are called trade. The person or company selling the goods and services are called private owners or sellers. What is a consumer?

Context: An economic system refers to the way the money, industry, and trade of a country is organized. People often disagree about how economic systems around the world should work. Capitalism, the system used in the United States, tends to involve fewer rules from the government. Many people support capitalism, but some critics say that it is unfair and can prevent poorer people from improving their lives. As you read, pay attention to both the positive and negative traits of capitalism. Capitalism is an economic system in which individual people make most of the decisions and own most of the property in a country. This is the system used in the United States today. In modern society, people who buy products or services are called consumers. For example, if Sidney purchases the new iPod, he bought a product and is a consumer. A product or service can be sold for money (profit). In the previous example, Sidney is a consumer because he bought something. The thing Sidney bought is called a product or good because it is for sale. Services can also be purchased. If Sidney wants to pay a lawyer for legal services to fight a traffic ticket, the service he paid for is the lawyer's knowledge and help fighting the ticket. Goods and services are called trade. The person or company selling the goods and services are called private owners or sellers. What is a private owner or seller?

Context: An economic system refers to the way the money, industry, and trade of a country is organized. People often disagree about how economic systems around the world should work. Capitalism, the system used in the United States, tends to involve fewer rules from the government. Many people support capitalism, but some critics say that it is unfair and can prevent poorer people from improving their lives. As you read, pay attention to both the positive and negative traits of capitalism. Capitalism is an economic system in which individual people make most of the decisions and own most of the property in a country. This is the system used in the United States today. In modern society, people who buy products or services are called consumers. For example, if Sidney purchases the new iPod, he bought a product and is a consumer. A product or service can be sold for money (profit). In the previous example, Sidney is a consumer because he bought something. The thing Sidney bought is called a product or good because it is for sale. Services can also be purchased. If Sidney wants to pay a lawyer for legal services to fight a traffic ticket, the service he paid for is the lawyer's knowledge and help fighting the ticket. Goods and services are called trade. The person or company selling the goods and services are called private owners or sellers. What is trade?

Context: An economic system refers to the way the money, industry, and trade of a country is organized. People often disagree about how economic systems around the world should work. Capitalism, the system used in the United States, tends to involve fewer rules from the government. Many people support capitalism, but some critics say that it is unfair and can prevent poorer people from improving their lives. As you read, pay attention to both the positive and negative traits of capitalism. Capitalism is an economic system in which individual people make most of the decisions and own most of the property in a country. This is the system used in the United States today. In modern society, people who buy products or services are called consumers. For example, if Sidney purchases the new iPod, he bought a product and is a consumer. A product or service can be sold for money (profit). In the previous example, Sidney is a consumer because he bought something. The thing Sidney bought is called a product or good because it is for sale. Services can also be purchased. If Sidney wants to pay a lawyer for legal services to fight a traffic ticket, the service he paid for is the lawyer's knowledge and help fighting the ticket. Goods and services are called trade. The person or company selling the goods and services are called private owners or sellers. What is capitalism?

PROPERTY In a capitalist society, individual people and businesses can own property. Property can be a piece of land, a house, or something smaller, like a car or even a shirt. People can decide when to sell their property or buy more property, and they are free to buy or sell without asking for permission from the government. They can also decide what price they will charge for their property or how much money they will spend on a new piece of property. A big system of people buying and selling property is called a “market." Another way to define capitalism is…

taxes: money the government requires its citizens to pay THE ROLE OF THE GOVERNMENT Capitalists say the government should not make very many laws about the economy. They prefer “free markets,” which are markets with only a few laws and regulations. Regulations are rules setup by the government to control something. For example, the government could make a law telling people not to steal someone else’s property, because property is so important for everyone to succeed. However, the government should not make a law telling people a price they have to charge to sell something. Some capitalists say that the government should not use money collected from taxes to help people who are poor or sick. Instead, they believe that individual people should help each other without being forced to give away their money. Which of the following best describes the role of the government in capitalism?

INVESTMENT Another important part of capitalism is investment. To invest in something is to buy a small piece of something because you believe it has value. For example, if Martha wanted to start a candy store, she might ask several of her friends to invest money in her idea. Once she had money from a few different people, she could buy a building for the store. She would recompense investors by giving them a percentage of the money she made from the store’s business. Investment helped everyone in this case, because Martha got the extra money she needed to buy her store, and all her investors got to share in her success. Very large companies can sometimes get thousands of investors. Investing is…

Which of the following best describes why some people do not think capitalism is a fair system?