Editing Capitalism (section)

== Types ==
There are many variants of capitalism in existence that differ according to country and region.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hall |first1=Peter A. |last2=Soskice |first2=David |title=Varieties Of Capitalism: The Institutional Foundations of Comparative Advantage |date=20 September 2001 |publisher=Oxford University Press, U.S.A. |isbn=0-19-924775-7}}</ref> They vary in their institutional makeup and by their economic policies. The common features among all the different forms of capitalism are that they are predominantly based on the private ownership of the means of production and the production of goods and services for profit; the market-based allocation of resources; and the accumulation of capital.

They include advanced capitalism, corporate capitalism, finance capitalism, free-market capitalism, mercantilism, state capitalism and welfare capitalism. Other theoretical variants of capitalism include [[anarcho-capitalism]], [[community capitalism]], [[humanistic capitalism]], [[neo-capitalism]], [[state monopoly capitalism]], and [[technocapitalism]].

=== Advanced ===
{{Main|Advanced capitalism}}
Advanced capitalism is the situation that pertains to a society in which the capitalist model has been integrated and developed deeply and extensively for a prolonged period. Various writers identify [[Antonio Gramsci]] as an influential early theorist of advanced capitalism, even if he did not use the term himself. In his writings, Gramsci sought to explain how capitalism had adapted to avoid the revolutionary overthrow that had seemed inevitable in the 19th century. At the heart of his explanation was the decline of raw coercion as a tool of class power, replaced by use of [[civil society]] institutions to manipulate public ideology in the capitalists' favour.<ref>Lears, T.J. Jackson (1985) "The Concept of Cultural Hegemony"</ref><ref>Holub, Renate (2005) ''Antonio Gramsci: Beyond Marxism and Postmodernism''</ref><ref>[[Carl Boggs|Boggs, Carl]] (2012) ''Ecology and Revolution: Global Crisis and the Political Challenge''</ref>

[[Jürgen Habermas]] has been a major contributor to the analysis of advanced-capitalistic societies. Habermas observed four general features that characterise advanced capitalism:
# Concentration of industrial activity in a few large firms.
# Constant reliance on the state to stabilise the economic system.
# A formally democratic government that legitimises the activities of the state and dissipates opposition to the system.
# The use of nominal wage increases to pacify the most restless segments of the work force.<ref>Habermas, 1988: 37, 75.</ref>

=== Corporate ===
{{Main|Corporate capitalism}}
{{See also|Crony capitalism|State monopoly capitalism}}
Corporate capitalism is a free or mixed-market capitalist economy characterized by the dominance of hierarchical and bureaucratic corporations.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Barnett |first=H C |date=January 1981 |title=Crime and Delinquency |url=https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/corporate-capitalism-corporate-crime |journal=[[Office of Justice Programs]]}}</ref>

=== Finance ===
{{Main|Finance capitalism}}
{{See also|Capitalist mode of production (Marxist theory)}}
Finance capitalism is the subordination of processes of [[Production (economics)|production]] to the accumulation of [[money]] profits in a [[financial system]]. In their critique of capitalism, [[Marxism]] and [[Leninism]] both emphasise the role of [[Financial capital|finance capital]] as the determining and [[ruling-class]] interest in capitalist society, particularly in the [[Crisis of capitalism|latter stages]].<ref>[[Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism]] [http://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1916/imp-hsc/ch03.htm ibid. Finance Capital and the Finance Oligarchy] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402214909/https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1916/imp-hsc/ch03.htm |date=2 April 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://monthlyreview.org/2009/10/01/monopoly-finance-capital-and-the-paradox-of-accumulation/|title= Monopoly-Finance Capital and the Paradox of Accumulation |first1=John Bellamy |last1=Foster |author1-link=John Bellamy Foster |first2=Robert W. |last2=McChesney |author2-link=Robert W. McChesney |date=1 October 2009 |magazine=[[Monthly Review]] |access-date=27 August 2016 |archive-date=28 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160828081218/http://monthlyreview.org/2009/10/01/monopoly-finance-capital-and-the-paradox-of-accumulation/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Rudolf Hilferding]] is credited with first bringing the term finance capitalism into prominence through ''Finance Capital'', his 1910 study of the links between German trusts, banks and monopolies—a study subsumed by [[Vladimir Lenin]] into ''[[Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism]]'' (1917), his analysis of the imperialist relations of the great world powers.<ref>Frederic Jameson, 'Culture and Finance Capital', in ''The Jameson Reader'' (2005) p. 257</ref> Lenin concluded that the banks at that time operated as "the chief nerve centres of the whole capitalist system of national economy".<ref>Quoted in E.H. Carr, ''The Bolshevik Revolution 2'' (1971) p. 137</ref> For the [[Comintern]] (founded in 1919), the phrase "dictatorship of finance capitalism"<ref>Quoted in F.A Voight, ''Unto Caesar'' (1938) p. 22</ref> became a regular one.

[[Fernand Braudel]] would later point to two earlier periods when finance capitalism had emerged in human history—with the Genoese in the 16th century and with the Dutch in the 17th and 18th centuries—although at those points it developed from commercial capitalism.<ref>C. J.Calhoun/G. Derluguian, ''Business as Usual'' (2011) p. 57</ref>{{request quotation|date=December 2016}} [[Giovanni Arrighi]] extended Braudel's analysis to suggest that a predominance of finance capitalism is a recurring, long-term phenomenon, whenever a previous phase of commercial/industrial capitalist expansion reaches a plateau.<ref>Jameson, pp. 259–260</ref>

=== Free market ===
{{Main|Free-market capitalism}}
{{See also|Laissez-faire}}
A capitalist free-market economy is an economic system where prices for goods and services are set entirely by the forces of [[supply and demand]] and are expected, by its adherents, to reach their point of [[Economic equilibrium|equilibrium]] without intervention by government policy. It typically entails support for highly [[Competition (economics)|competitive markets]] and [[private ownership]] of the [[means of production]].<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Jahan |first1=Sarwat |last2=Saber Mahmud |first2=Ahmed |title=What Is Capitalism? |url=https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/fandd/issues/Series/Back-to-Basics/Capitalism |website=[[International Monetary Fund]]}}</ref> ''Laissez-faire'' capitalism is a more extensive form of this free-market economy, but one in which the role of the state is limited to protecting [[Property rights (economics)|property rights]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Laissez-faire |url=https://www.britannica.com/money/laissez-faire |website=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]}}</ref> In [[Anarcho-capitalism|anarcho-capitalist]] theory, property rights are protected by private firms and market-generated law. According to anarcho-capitalists, this entails property rights without statutory law through market-generated tort, contract and property law, and self-sustaining private industry.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Anarcho-capitalism |url=https://www.britannica.com/money/anarcho-capitalism |website=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Perumal J. |first=Prashanth |date=13 December 2023 |title=Understanding the debates around anarcho-capitalism |url=https://www.thehindu.com/specials/text-and-context/understanding-the-debates-around-anarcho-capitalism/article67631934.ece |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231213083528/https://www.thehindu.com/specials/text-and-context/understanding-the-debates-around-anarcho-capitalism/article67631934.ece |archive-date=13 December 2023 |website=[[The Hindu]]}}</ref>

[[Fernand Braudel]] argued that free market exchange and capitalism are to some degree opposed; free market exchange involves [[Perfect information|transparent]] public transactions and a large number of [[Perfect competition|equal competitors]], while capitalism involves a small number of participants using their capital to control the market via private transactions, control of information, and limitation of competition.<ref name="Braudel Ranum Ranum Johns Hopkins University 1977 p. 47-63">{{cite book |last1=Braudel |first1=F. |author-link=Fernand Braudel |last2=Ranum |first2=P.M. |last3=Ranum |first3=P.P. |title=Afterthoughts on Material Civilization and Capitalism |publisher=[[Johns Hopkins University Press]] |series=Johns Hopkins symposia in comparative history |year=1977 |isbn=978-0-8018-1901-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1eVdAAAAIAAJ |access-date=6 April 2022 |pages=47–63}}</ref>

=== Mercantile ===
{{Main|Mercantilism}}
{{See also|Protectionism}}
[[File:Microcosm of London Plate 049 - Lloyd's Subscription Room edited.jpg|thumb|The subscription room at [[Lloyd's of London]] in the early 19th century]]
Mercantilism is a nationalist form of early capitalism that came into existence approximately in the late 16th century. It is characterized by the intertwining of national business interests with state-interest and imperialism. Consequently, the state apparatus is used to advance national business interests abroad. An example of this is [[European colonization of the Americas|colonists living in America]] who were only allowed to trade with and purchase goods from their respective mother countries (e.g., United Kingdom, France and Portugal). Mercantilism was driven by the belief that the wealth of a nation is increased through a positive balance of trade with other nations—it corresponds to the phase of capitalist development sometimes called the [[primitive accumulation of capital]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mercantilism |url=https://www.britannica.com/money/mercantilism |website=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]}}</ref>

=== Social ===
{{Main|Social market economy}}
{{See also|Nordic model}}
A social market economy is a free-market or mixed-market capitalist system, sometimes classified as a [[coordinated market economy]], where government intervention in price formation is kept to a minimum, but the state provides significant services in areas such as social security, health care, unemployment benefits and the recognition of [[labor rights]] through national [[collective bargaining]] arrangements.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Müller-Armack |first=Alfred |date=28 July 2006 |title=The Social Market Economy as an Economic and Social order |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00346767800000020 |journal=[[Taylor & Francis]]|doi=10.1080/00346767800000020 }}</ref>

This model is prominent in Western and Northern European countries as well as Japan, albeit in slightly different configurations. The vast majority of enterprises are privately owned in this economic model. Rhine capitalism is the contemporary model of capitalism and adaptation of the social market model that exists in continental Western Europe today.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rhenish Capitalism |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100418483 |website=[[Oxford University Press]]}}</ref>

=== State ===
{{Main|State capitalism}}
State capitalism is a capitalist market economy dominated by state-owned enterprises, where the state enterprises are organized as commercial, profit-seeking businesses. The designation has been used broadly throughout the 20th century to designate a number of different economic forms, ranging from state-ownership in market economies to the command economies of the former [[Eastern Bloc]]. According to Aldo Musacchio, a professor at Harvard Business School, state capitalism is a system in which governments, whether democratic or autocratic, exercise a widespread influence on the economy either through direct ownership or various subsidies. Musacchio notes a number of differences between today's state capitalism and its predecessors. In his opinion, gone are the days when governments appointed bureaucrats to run companies: the world's largest state-owned enterprises are now traded on the public markets and kept in good health by large institutional investors. Contemporary state capitalism is associated with the [[East Asian model of capitalism]], [[dirigisme]] and the economy of Norway.<ref>{{cite news |last=Musacchio |first=Aldo |url=http://www.economist.com/debate/days/view/802 |title=Economist Debates: State capitalism: Statements |newspaper=The Economist |access-date=20 June 2012 |archive-date=16 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120716050641/http://economist.com/debate/days/view/802 |url-status=live }}</ref> Alternatively, [[Merriam-Webster]] defines state capitalism as "an economic system in which private capitalism is modified by a varying degree of government ownership and control".<ref>[http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/state%20capitalism State capitalism] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150703131303/http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/state%20capitalism |date=3 July 2015 }}. [[Merriam-Webster]]. Retrieved 7 July 2015.</ref>

In ''Socialism: Utopian and Scientific'', [[Friedrich Engels]] argued that state-owned enterprises would characterize the final stage of capitalism, consisting of ownership and management of large-scale production and communication by the [[Capitalist state|bourgeois state]].<ref>{{cite web |first=Frederick |last=Engels |author-link=Friedrich Engels |url=http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1880/soc-utop/ch03.htm |title=Socialism: Utopian and Scientific (Chpt. 3) |publisher=[[Marxists Internet Archive]] |access-date=8 January 2014 |archive-date=9 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200509191523/https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1880/soc-utop/ch03.htm |url-status=live}}</ref> In his writings, [[Vladimir Lenin]] characterized the economy of Soviet Russia as state capitalist, believing state capitalism to be an early step toward the development of socialism.<ref>V.I. Lenin. [https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1921/apr/21.htm The Tax in Kind] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150907043921/https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1921/apr/21.htm |date=7 September 2015 }}. ''Lenin's Collected Works'', 1st English ed., Progress Publishers, Moscow, 1965, vol. 32, pp. 329–365.</ref><ref>V.I. Lenin. [https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1922/nov/14b.htm To the Russian Colony in North America] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150618071802/https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1922/nov/14b.htm |date=18 June 2015 }}. ''Lenin Collected Works'', Progress Publishers, 1971, Moscow, vol. 42, pp. 425c–427a.</ref>

Some economists and left-wing academics including [[Richard D. Wolff]] and [[Noam Chomsky]], as well as many Marxist philosophers and revolutionaries such as [[Raya Dunayevskaya]] and [[C.L.R. James]], argue that the economies of the former [[Soviet Union]] and Eastern Bloc represented a form of state capitalism because their internal organization within enterprises and the system of wage labor remained intact.<ref>[http://www.hetsa.org.au/pdf/34-A-08.pdf "State capitalism" in the Soviet Union] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190728140836/https://www.hetsa.org.au/pdf/34-A-08.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.hetsa.org.au/pdf/34-A-08.pdf |archive-date=9 October 2022 |url-status=live |date=28 July 2019 }}, M.C. Howard and J.E. King</ref><ref>[[Noam Chomsky]] (1986). [http://www.chomsky.info/articles/1986----.htm The Soviet Union Versus Socialism] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924051230/http://www.chomsky.info/articles/1986----.htm |date=24 September 2015 }}. ''Our Generation''. Retrieved 9 July 2015.</ref><ref>[[Richard D. Wolff]] (27 June 2015). [http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/31567-socialism-means-abolishing-the-distinction-between-bosses-and-employees Socialism Means Abolishing the Distinction Between Bosses and Employees] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180311070639/http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/31567-socialism-means-abolishing-the-distinction-between-bosses-and-employees |date=11 March 2018 }}. ''[[Truthout]].'' Retrieved 9 July 2015.</ref><ref>{{cite web|first1=Raya |last1=Dunayevskaya |author-link1=Raya Dunayevskaya |date=1941 |url=https://www.marxists.org/archive/dunayevskaya/works/1941/ussr-capitalist.htm |title=The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics is a Capitalist Society |website=[[Marxists Internet Archive]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191207212742/https://www.marxists.org/archive/dunayevskaya/works/1941/ussr-capitalist.htm |archive-date=7 December 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|first1=C.L.R. |last1=James |author-link1=C.L.R. James |first2=Raya |last2=Dunayevskaya |author-link2=Raya Dunayevskaya |first3=Grace Lee |last3=Boggs |author-link3=Grace Lee Boggs |date=1950 |url=https://libcom.org/files/State%20capitalism%20and%20world%20revolution%20-%20CLR%20James.pdf |title=State Capitalism and World Revolution |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200619014753/https://libcom.org/files/State%20capitalism%20and%20world%20revolution%20-%20CLR%20James.pdf |archive-date=19 June 2020}}</ref>

The term is not used by [[Austrian School]] economists to describe state ownership of the means of production. The economist [[Ludwig von Mises]] argued that the designation of state capitalism was a new label for the old labels of state socialism and planned economy and differed only in non-essentials from these earlier designations.<ref>{{cite book|first=Ludwig |last=Von Mises |author-link=Ludwig Von Mises |title=Socialism: An Economic and Sociological Analysis |publisher=LibertyClassics |place=Indianapolis |year=1979 |isbn=978-0-913966-63-1 |url=https://archive.org/details/socialismeconomi00vonm |access-date=31 May 2007 |quote=The socialist movement takes great pains to circulate frequently new labels for its ideally constructed state. Each worn-out label is replaced by another which raises hopes of an ultimate solution of the insoluble basic problem of Socialism—until it becomes obvious that nothing has been changed but the name. The most recent slogan is 'State Capitalism.' It is not commonly realized that this covers nothing more than what used to be called Planned Economy and State Socialism, and that State Capitalism, Planned Economy, and State Socialism diverge only in non-essentials from the "classic" ideal of egalitarian Socialism. |url-access=registration}}</ref>

=== Political ===
{{Main|Political capitalism}}
Political capitalism or Politically oriented capitalism is a term coined by [[Max Weber]] in his 1921 book ''[[Economy and Society]]'' to describe monetary profit-making through non-market means.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Vahabi |first=Mehrdad |url=https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-17674-6 |title=Destructive Coordination, Anfal and Islamic Political Capitalism |date=2023 |publisher=SpringerLink |isbn=978-3-031-17673-9 |page=XV |language=en |chapter=Prologue |doi=10.1007/978-3-031-17674-6}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Krieger |first1=Tim |last2=Meierrieks |first2=Daniel |date=2016-12-01 |title=Political capitalism: The interaction between income inequality, economic freedom and democracy |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0176268016302282 |journal=European Journal of Political Economy |volume=45 |pages=115–132 |doi=10.1016/j.ejpoleco.2016.10.005 |issn=0176-2680|hdl=10419/125138 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> In 2015 [[Randall G. Holcombe]] described political capitalism as an [[economic system]] in which the sharp distinction between [[State (polity)|states]] and [[Market (economics)|markets]] is blurred.'''<ref>{{Cite web |last=Holcombe |first=Randall |date=2015-03-20 |title=Political Capitalism as a Distinct Economic System |url=https://www.masterresource.org/political-capitalism/political-capitalism/ |access-date=2025-04-21 |website=Master Resource |language=en}}</ref>'''<ref>{{Cite book |last=Holcombe |first=Randall G. |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/political-capitalism/668D714DEEA375AF686E479535E1876A |title=Political Capitalism: How Economic and Political Power Is Made and Maintained |date=2018 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-108-47177-0 |series=Cambridge Studies in Economics, Choice, and Society |location=Cambridge |doi=10.1017/9781108637251}}</ref>

=== Welfare ===
{{Main|Welfare capitalism}}
{{See also|Economic interventionism|Mixed economy}}
Welfare capitalism is capitalism that includes social welfare policies. Today, welfare capitalism is most often associated with the models of capitalism found in Central and Northern Europe such as the [[Nordic model]], [[social market economy]] and Rhine capitalism. In some cases, welfare capitalism exists within a mixed economy, but welfare states can and do exist independently of policies common to mixed economies such as [[state interventionism]] and extensive regulation.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Esping-Andersen |first=Gøsta |title=[[The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism]] |publisher=[[Princeton University Press]] |year=1990 |isbn=9780691028576}}</ref>

A mixed economy is a largely market-based capitalist economy consisting of both private and public ownership of the means of production and [[economic interventionism]] through macroeconomic policies intended to correct [[market failure]]s, reduce unemployment and keep inflation low. The degree of intervention in markets varies among different countries. Some mixed economies such as France under [[dirigisme]] also featured a degree of [[Indicative planning|indirect economic planning]] over a largely capitalist-based economy.

Most modern capitalist economies are defined as mixed economies to some degree<ins>,</ins> however French economist [[Thomas Piketty]] state that capitalist economies might shift to a much more ''laissez-faire'' approach in the near future.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Piketty |first=Thomas |title=Le capital au XXIe siècle |year=2013 |isbn=978-2-02-108228-9 |pages=799, 800 |language=fr |chapter=Repenser l'impôt progressif sur le revenu |publisher=Éditions du Seuil |trans-chapter=To rethink income tax progressivity |quote=Si cette régressivité fiscale au sommet de la hiérarchie sociale devait se confirmer et s'amplifier à l'avenir, [...] il est bien évident qu'une telle sécession fiscale des plus riches [avec les autres classes] est potentiellement extrêmement dommageable pour le consentement fiscal dans son ensemble [qui] s'en trouve amoindri [...]. Il est vital pour l'État social moderne que le système fiscal qui le sous-tend conserve un minimum de progressivité. |trans-quote=If tax regressivity on top of the social hierarchy may settle in and escalate in the future, it is obvious that such a tax secession between the richest and the other classes will be highly harmful towards the agreement over the taxation system which will weaken. It is essential for the modern social system that the taxation system preserve a sort of tax progressivity.}}</ref>

=== Eco-capitalism ===
[[Eco-capitalism]], also known as "environmental capitalism" or (sometimes<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/nov/24/b-corps-captalism-for-an-environmentally-endangered-age |title=Green capitalism sometimes also referring to sustainable businesses |first=Oliver |last=Balch |date=24 November 2019 |work=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref>) "green capitalism", is the view that [[capital (economics)|capital]] exists in nature as "[[natural capital]]" ([[ecosystem]]s that have [[ecological yield]]) on which all [[wealth]] depends. Therefore, governments should use [[Market (economics)|market-based]] [[policy instruments|policy-instruments]] (such as a [[carbon tax]]) to resolve [[environmental problem]]s.<ref>{{cite web|title=Definition of Eco-Capitalism |url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/eco-capitalism |website=collinsdictionary.com |access-date= 27 November 2015}}</ref>

The term "Blue Greens" is often applied to those who espouse eco-capitalism. Eco-capitalism can be thought of as the right-wing equivalent to [[Eco-socialism|Red Greens]].<ref>{{cite web |title=The rise of green capitalism |url=http://roadtoparis.info/top-list/rise-green-capitalism/ |website=roadtoparis.info |access-date=27 November 2015 |archive-date=28 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150428134122/http://roadtoparis.info/top-list/rise-green-capitalism/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>{{request quotation|date=August 2019}}

=== Sustainable capitalism ===
[[Sustainable capitalism]] is a conceptual form of capitalism based upon [[Sustainability|sustainable]] practices that seek to preserve humanity and the planet, while reducing [[Externality|externalities]] and bearing a resemblance of capitalist [[economic policy]]. A capitalistic economy must expand to survive and find new markets to support this expansion.<ref>{{cite book |doi=10.1109/IPCC.2011.6087226 |chapter=The convergence of sustainable capitalism |title=2011 IEEE International Professional Communication Conference |pages=1–7 |year=2011 |last1=Mitra |first1=Basavadatta |last2=Gadhok |first2=Saagar |last3=Salhotra |first3=Shivam |last4=Agarwal |first4=Sakshi |isbn=978-1-61284-779-5 |s2cid=31292223 }}</ref> Capitalist systems are often destructive to the environment as well as certain individuals without access to proper representation. However, sustainability provides quite the opposite; it implies not only a continuation, but a [[resource depletion|replenishing of resources]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Schweickart |first1=David |title=Is Sustainable Capitalism an Oxymoron? |journal=Perspectives on Global Development and Technology |date=1 January 2009 |volume=8 |issue=2–3 |pages=559–580 |doi=10.1163/156914909X424033 }}</ref> Sustainability is often thought of to be related to [[environmentalism]], and sustainable capitalism applies sustainable principles to economic governance and social aspects of capitalism as well.

The importance of sustainable capitalism has been more recently recognized, but the concept is not new. Changes to the current economic model would have heavy social environmental and economic implications and require the efforts of individuals, as well as compliance of local, state and federal governments. Controversy surrounds the concept as it requires an increase in sustainable practices and a marked decrease in current consumptive behaviors.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |title=Sustainable Capitalism and the Pursuit of Well-Being.|last=E.|first=Harrison, Neil|date=1 January 2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-306-21804-7|oclc=866837827}}{{page needed|date=March 2019}}</ref>

This is a concept of capitalism described in [[Al Gore]] and [[David Blood]]'s manifesto for the [[Generation Investment Management]] to describe a long-term political, economic and social structure which would mitigate current threats to the planet and society.<ref name="genfound">{{Cite web |last1=Gore |first1=Al |last2=Blood |first2=David |title=A Manifesto for Sustainable Capitalism |url=https://www.genfound.org/media/pdf-wsj-manifesto-sustainable-capitalism-14-12-11.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140124005644/https://www.genfound.org/media/pdf-wsj-manifesto-sustainable-capitalism-14-12-11.pdf |archive-date=24 January 2014 |access-date=24 October 2022 |website=Generation Foundation}}</ref> According to their manifesto, sustainable capitalism would integrate the environmental, social and governance ([[Environmental, social and corporate governance|ESG]]) aspects into risk assessment in attempt to limit externalities.<ref name=":0b">{{Cite web|url=https://www.generationim.com/media/pdf-generation-sustainable-capitalism-v1.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.generationim.com/media/pdf-generation-sustainable-capitalism-v1.pdf |archive-date=9 October 2022 |url-status=live|title=Sustainable Capitalism|access-date=18 February 2017}}</ref> Most of the ideas they list are related to economic changes, and social aspects, but strikingly few are explicitly related to any environmental policy change.<ref name="genfound" />