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
DC Circuit Court shields proxy advisor duopoly
In an unfortunate move, the DC Circuit Court of Appeals recently struck down the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) 2020 Proxy Advisor Rule. The…
Blog
Antitrust abuse threatens America’s AI dominance
On July 14, 2025, Jensen Huang, CEO of Santa Clara-based NVIDIA, and President Donald Trump agreed to allow NVIDIA to resume its exports to…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Welfare and work with Kevin Corinth
In this week’s episode we cover new inflation data, public attitudes about Social Security, and California’s self-inflicted energy crisis. Our interview…
Studies
Corporate Social Irresponsibility
Executive summary State and municipal governments across America are engaged in a massive transfer of public resources to private corporate interests in the name of…
Trade Under Blockade
Introduction President Donald Trump threw the world trading system into disarray with his “Liberation Day” announcement on April 2, 2025. The principles behind the General…
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…
Blog
Trump revokes Biden’s bogus competition order, but it’s only a start
President Donald Trump just revoked President Biden’s 2021 “Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy.” That’s welcome news, as I explain in…
Closing the window on public media funding
A door has closed, but windows remain open. Recently, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) announced that it would discontinue operations in light of…
Trump’s economy off to a slow start
Last week, the Bureau of Economic Analysis released its estimates of the performance of the US economy in the second quarter. The headline result…
News
Supreme Court ruling on social media age verification isn’t the final word: CEI analysis
The Supreme Court today in an emergency ruling declined to block Mississippi from enforcing an age-verification law imposed on nine social media platforms. The trade group…
Latest Producer Price Index numbers show a 0.9 percent increase, tariffs to blame: CEI analysis
July’s Producer Price Index (PPI) numbers show a 0.9 percent increase in final demand prices, up 3.3 percent over the past 12 months. CEI…
GDP grew by three percent in the second quarter of 2025: CEI analysis
The GDP grew by three percent in the second quarter of 2025, marking a return to growth after first quarter shrinkage. CEI senior economist…
Op-Eds
The Daily Economy
The Founders Would Be Appalled by Trump’s Tariff Policy—Even Hamilton
President Trump has, it is clear, upended the global trading system and America’s place in it through his aggressive use of tariffs as a tool…
The Daily Economy
The Founders Would Be Appalled by Trump’s Tariff Policy—Even Hamilton
President Trump has, it is clear, upended the global trading system and America’s place in it through his aggressive use of tariffs as a tool…
American Greatness
Chester Arthur was a Champion of Government Accountability, not the Architect of the Deep State
Was America’s 21st president responsible for spawning a perpetual class of unaccountable power-wielding bureaucrats? In an article for American Greatness, Thaddeus McCotter…
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
Stone Washington
Research Fellow
- Capitalism
- Capitalism and Free Enterprise
Ryan Young
Senior Economist
- Antitrust
- Business and Government
- Regulatory Reform