# What's The Difference Between Capitalism And Free Enterprise?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-capitalism-and-free-enterprise/551094>\
**Category:** Great Debates\
**Created:** [August 22, 2010, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-capitalism-and-free-enterprise/551094 "2010-08-22T20:43:46Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 27

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![adhay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@adhay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adhay)\
**Post date:** [August 24, 2010, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-capitalism-and-free-enterprise/551094/27 "2010-08-24T11:30:12Z")

</div>

[quote=“New\_Deal\_Democrat, post:19, topic:551007”]

> [@Why Is The USA Exceptional Among First World Countries?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-usa-exceptional-among-first-world-countries/551007/1):
>
> Compared with Europe and the rest of the world’s arms exporters, the USA _is_ exceptional.
> 
> Unburdened of all that socialist bullshit that our allies abroad have to fund, healthcare, etc, we rock. Our 5% of the world’s population consumes 35% of the world’s resources and we have the SUVs to prove it. Envy of the world.

> [@](#):
>
> We are not the envy of Western Europe or the British Commonwealth. Nearly everyone who migrates here comes from the Third World.

I’m afraid that I was overly ironic in the OP. ETA. Would scare quotes on “Envy” have been helpful?

> [@](#):
>
> The United States is a great country to be rich in. Otherwise, I cannot think of anything that is exceptionally desirable about this country. In many respects people in other first world countries live better than we do. They have less poverty, lower crime rates, and better health. Communist China out competes us economically while buying up our national debt.
> 
> In the nineteenth century and early twentieth century the United States took the lead in extending public education to everyone and in extending voting rights to populations that could not yet vote in Europe.

The illusion of ‘democracy’. Does anyone there have any more than that. Does anyone on the fucking planet?

After the War, Europe was largely rebuilt in the interest American Capital, paid for by the US taxpayer. To speed up the process, concessions to public welfare there were in order. The US, otoh, was untouched and booming. Time to start dismantling Glass-Steagal and expand the consumer base by giving Blacks the vote and letting women into boardrooms.

Everyone on board and in debt? Cars and TVs in place? Time to shake off these pesky regulations on “free enterprise.” Fuck me running.

> [@](#):
>
> Since the end of the Second World War we have lagged behind in public health care, guaranteed vacations, pensions, and so on.

You don’t say?

I guess it’s because the American People seem to prefer guns to butter in the polling place. Of course, It’s seldom put in those terms in our Corporate Media.

Truly free enterprise deals in trade. Capital deals in arms. I think, with your help, I just answered my OP.

---

_[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-capitalism-and-free-enterprise/551094)._