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
Blog
New legislation seeks to shuffle the deck chairs on the sinking No Surprises Act
On October 8, Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ) introduced the Lower Premiums, Faster Payments Act as a fix for the disastrous No Surprises Act (NSA).
Blog
Asking the right questions on inequality
A recent Congressional Budget Office report finds that inequality in America has declined slightly in recent years. Over at National Review, my colleague…
Blog
Why can’t we just print more money?
Last week, I attended an event at a think tank where the conversation centered on the federal budget and national debt. At one…
Studies
Assets Undermining Management
In recent years, the two major proxy advisors in the United States have prioritized environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations in their investing advice…
Don’t Panic: A Skeptic’s Guide to the AI Jobs Doomsday
As technology advances it has periodically bred the fear that progress will destroy jobs and livelihoods. History teaches that these fears are usually misplaced.
Giants of the Free Society
Introduction I was invited to deliver remarks to the Philadelphia Society on the subject, “Giants on Whose Shoulders We Stand: What We Owe to…
Blog
Protestations aside, Washington wants to regulate AI. It also wants to run it
Washington’s latest AI summit between Trump and tech executives was billed largely as a meeting about safety. Ultimately, it was a meeting about something…
America as an act of disobedience
CEI’s annual Julian L. Simon Memorial Award Dinner is on September 23. The theme is American Treasures. This post celebrates one of the…
The intergenerational John Adams
CEI’s annual Julian L. Simon Memorial Award Dinner is on September 23. The theme is American Treasures. This post celebrates two of the…
News
Higher inflation in August as conflict overseas continues to affect domestic prices: CEI analysis
The Consumer Price Index report for August shows inflation increased 0.4 percent across all sectors, with one-third of the increase being attributed to…
CEI praises Schumer’s good idea on trade reform
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has introduced a bill, the End Trump’s Tariff Tax Act, to repeal Trump tariffs and duties on Canada…
Consumers will pay the price of a trade war between US & Canada: CEI analysis
Today, Canada announced retaliatory tariffs against the US, ranging from 15 percent to 50 percent on approximately $20 billion worth of American imports.
Op-Eds
National Review
From Munitions Shortage to Ebola, Dodd–Frank Minerals Measure Makes Things Worse
A scan of news headlines warns readers of two seemingly unrelated dangers around the globe. One is a potential shortage of missiles, interceptors, and…
The Wall Street Journal
Don’t Expand Payroll Taxes for Social Security
In his column “Republicans’ Pre-Emptive Social Security Surrender” (Political Economics, Sept. 18), Joseph C. Sternberg makes a persuasive argument against expanding…
Daily Wire
Trump’s $5,000 Down Payment On The Entitlement State
Donald Trump’s $5,000 “dividend” proposal to every U.S. adult should be taken seriously, not because the arithmetic has been worked out, since there isn’t…
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
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
Ryan Young
Senior Economist and Director of Publications
- Antitrust
- Business and Government
- Regulatory Reform