Capitalism is the economic system in which a market economy is combined with legal protections for each individual’s rights, including the right to own and dispose of one’s own property as one sees fit. Leaving people free to work, save, and invest, with as little government interference as possible, creates an environment in which wealth grows and society advances.
Defending that system is one of the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s primary goals. Regardless of which industry, product, or business model we consider, the same expectations and legal guarantees apply. The role of government officials—whether at the local, state, or federal level—is to create a system of law and policy that allows voluntary contracts to proceed and the gains from them to be enjoyed by their participants.
To the extent that current government policy violates those expectations, it should be reformed or abolished. CEI’s defense of capitalism as an economic and legal system applies to sector-specific law and regulation as well as to economy-wide rules. Our advocacy for regulatory reform of telecommunications, energy, finance, or any other part of the economy rests on the fundamental right of individuals to create, innovate, and build whatever voluntary arrangements they can imagine.
Capitalism Issue Areas
Featured Posts
Forbes
Shutdowns Aren’t The Problem, They’re The Solution
Federal shutdowns—along with the debt limit like that the Republicans sought to extend in the American Relief Act (ARA)—may represent the last remaining…
Blog
Time to downsize presidential power
Over at InsideSources, I have a syndicated column arguing that the presidency has grown too powerful. The best parting gift President Biden could give…
The American Spectator
Regulations’ Enormous Costs and DOGE’s Enormous Upside
The American Spectator cited CEI’s Ten Thousand Commandments Wayne Crews, author of the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s “Ten Thousand Commandments” study, produced a price tag that…
Studies
Feeling Minnesota
Minnesota’s efforts to streamline environmental permitting under former Gov. Mark Dayton (D) initially saw some success, with reforms aimed at reducing approval times for priority…
Mardi Gras for Permits
The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality’s (LDEQ) Expedited Permit Program, established in 2006, represents an innovative approach to speeding up environmental permit approvals. This report…
Permanently in Recovery
Washington state has made some significant strides in reforming its environmental permitting processes through its Permit Timelinesss initiative. The Governor’s Office for Regulatory Innovation and…
Blog
Proposed student loan bailout rule makes no sense
As the Federal Register approached its previous record of 95,894 pages in a year (set in 2016), the Biden administration devoted a few more…
Can Trump’s DOGE team outmaneuver regulatory dark matter?
As Donald Trump prepares for a second term, his administration inherits a far more expansive regulatory state than it did in 2017. As explored today…
Free the Economy podcast: Big tech, antitrust, and the courts with Patrick Hedger
In this week’s episode we cover the DOGE effort to reform government spending, review survey results about US transportation choices, and…
News
Fed cuts interest rates again, fewer cuts planned next year: CEI analysis
Today, the Federal Reserve announced that interest rates will be cut by 25 basis points, with an additional note that there will be fewer…
Minnesota’s cautionary environmental permitting history: CEI report
Lawmakers in Minnesota, including former Gov. Mark Dayton, have made environmental permitting reforms to make the system efficient and effective. These reforms, noted in a…
Report: FTC used insufficient analysis in its investigation of Pharmacy Benefit Managers
A new Competitive Enterprise Institute report delves into major problems with a Federal Trade Commission report critical of Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs). PBMs are specialized…
Op-Eds
DC Journal
Counterpoint: Biden Should Reduce Presidential Power
The American experiment can be summed up in one big idea: don’t put too much power in one place. That is why the federal government…
Forbes
Republicans’ Next Reconciliation Bill Should Include These Reforms
Republicans are already planning at least one, and possibly two, major budget reconciliation packages in the next Congress. Reconciliation bills allow lawmakers…
The Federalist Society
Court Holds the Corporate Transparency Act Is Unconstitutional: A Victory for Limited Government and the Right to Privacy
Earlier this month, a federal district court judge issued a preliminary injunction against the enforcement of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), a law that requires new…
Staff & Scholars
Clyde Wayne Crews
Fred L. Smith Fellow in Regulatory Studies
- Business and Government
- Consumer Freedom
- Deregulation
Sam Kazman
Counsel Emeritus
- Antitrust
- Automobiles and Roads
- Banking and Finance
Paige Lambermont
Research Fellow
- Capitalism and Free Enterprise
- Energy
- Energy and Environment
Kent Lassman
President and CEO
- Capitalism
- Deregulation
- Innovation
Jeremy Lott
Managing Editor
- Capitalism
- Deregulation
Jessica Melugin
Director of the Center for Technology & Innovation
- Antitrust
- Innovation
- Media, Speech and Internet Freedoms
Richard Morrison
Senior Fellow
- Antitrust
- Business and Government
- Capitalism and Free Enterprise
Alex Reinauer
Research Fellow
- Antitrust
- Innovation
- Tech and Telecom
Fred L. Smith, Jr.
Founder; Chairman Emeritus
- Automobiles and Roads
- Aviation
- Business and Government
Stone Washington
Research Fellow
- Capitalism
- Capitalism and Free Enterprise
Ryan Young
Senior Economist
- Antitrust
- Business and Government
- Regulatory Reform