Social Systems
Capitalism is a social system with decentralized power and spending. Because individual rights are protected, others cannot "tell you what to do," and they cannot spend your (tax) money on their very own initiatives. Instead, your money gets spent on initiatives chosen by you and you alone. Government, if anything, is always small and unobstrusive under Capitalism.
The opposite of Capitalism is Statism, an inherently-feudal (haves vs. have-nots) system which is given different names such as Socialism, Communism, and Fascism. The centralization of power and spending allows for some people to "tell you what to do" and to spend your (tax) money on initiatives of their choosing.
While purporting to do the opposite, Statism splits society into two classes, those who have power and influence, and those who don't. The irony is that this government-initiated and propagated power asymmetry is defended by the Statists as a drive toward "equality."
Why Centralization is always a "race to the bottom"
While Capitalism has been described as "a rising tide which lifts all boats," the opposite of Capitalism, Statism, involves a race to the bottom. Here is a short story showing how it is that perverse incentives invite the worst kind of decision-making under the centralization of power and spending:
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Little Johnny Applepicker had a father who was in government at the time and his father approached him with a deal: the government will pay Little Johnny to collect apples from the orchard. By securing food for many people, it would be a "public-private partnership" for the good of humankind.
Little Johnny went out to pick the low-hanging fruit, but was interrupted by a thug, a local leader of organized crime. The thug convinced Little Johnny to partner with him on a scheme to siphon tax dollars away from the public based on intentionally choosing those efforts with the least return-on-investment (the very worst in terms of cost-effectiveness).
Under the tutelage of the organized crime boss, Little Johnny began writing false stories about how it is that only the apples at the very top of the tree -- the ones which cost the most to acquire -- are fit for human consumption.
Pretty soon, Little Johnny and the crime lord were raking in tons of cash, because the government was paying top-dollar with the public's money for the harvesting costs required to harvest the apples at the very top of the tree.
Low-hanging fruit, the most cost-effective, was left to rot.
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In the same way as in this short story, the leaders of organized crime will always seek the centralization of power and influence. Being of low morality to begin with, they seek unearned power over others and will seek it even if it comes at great cost to others.
The solution is to keep the government small and unobtrusive, so that leaders of organized crime cannot gain a foothold in terms of having power and influence over their fellow man.
Here is an example of government intentionally making one of the worst choices available, all because it benefits cronies at public expense:
For perspective and context, my other writings on this subject are here and here.
Reference
[NNV to prevent one COVID hospitalization] — CDC Presentation. 19 Nov 2021. https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/acip/meetings/downloads/slides-2021-11-19/06-COVID-Oliver-508.pdf
[Hospitalized COVID patients followed in 555 US Medical Centers: hospital death rate down to 6.5% by August 2020] — Nguyen NT, Chinn J, Nahmias J, Yuen S, Kirby KA, Hohmann S, Amin A. Outcomes and Mortality Among Adults Hospitalized With COVID-19 at US Medical Centers. JAMA Netw Open. 2021 Mar 1;4(3):e210417. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.0417. PMID: 33666657; PMCID: PMC8547263. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8547263/
[1 per 800 hospitalized for serious AESI] — Fraiman J, Erviti J, Jones M, Greenland S, Whelan P, Kaplan RM, Doshi P. Serious adverse events of special interest following mRNA COVID-19 vaccination in randomized trials in adults. Vaccine. 2022 Sep 22;40(40):5798-5805. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2022.08.036. Epub 2022 Aug 31. PMID: 36055877; PMCID: PMC9428332. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9428332/