Is "capitalism" (or any form of the capitalist system) anywhere in the Constitution?

[hiaasenrocks]

[leftofthedial]

1. no

although the bill of rights offers some basic protections of property

[Cleita]

2. When the Constitution was written we were mostly an agricultural

society, so capitalism, as we know it today, didn't play a big part in our society. It was the Industrial Revolution that created our present form of the beast.

Come to think of it, there isn't much in the Constitution about property rights, workers rights and other things that come from capitalism.

[Boojatta]

3. The word "capitalism":

Capitalism first recorded 1854; originally "the condition of having capital;" as a political/economic system, 1877. Capitalist is 1791, from Fr. capitaliste, a coinage of the Revolution and a term of reproach.

Source:
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?l=c&p=3

[LostInAnomie]

4. Not explicitly...

... but there are guidelines about what powers the legislature has which limit constitutionally what control they can have over the economy.

Limited governmental power over the economy leads towards a capitalist economy.

[existentialist]

5. "common law" and "no interference with contract"

The closest that I am aware of (off the top of my head) are the provisions that there shall be no interference with contract, the references to common law, and the prohibition of a tax on exports.

There is considerable language that can be read as precedence to the development of capitalism in the federalist papers, those written by Hamilton in particular, but the prior post about the country being primarily agricultural at the time of the drafting and ratification of the Constitution is correct.

[evilkumquat]

6. 'Monarchy' Pretty Much Sums Up Our Current System

5% owning 95%...

People treated like royalty based on who their parents were...

A military composed of a majority of the poor with a few "elites" in command...

Hell! We even have a King George! One might call him George II, but considering how he acts, George III would be more apropos.

Evil Kumquat

[jody]

7. No and corporations are not mentioned and have no rights. Corporate power began with

the Southern Pacific Railroad Company. The U.S. Supreme Court decided that a private corporation is a person and entitled to the legal rights and protections and its been down hill every since.

Congress is organized to give property owners maximum power by controlling the senate.

Depending on the source, one per cent or less of the U.S. population own over 50% of our financial wealth.

Lucky group because they pay only token taxes and their sons and daughters do not die defending the family fortune.

[SanCristobal]

8. YES! From Manuel Cereijo's CAPITALISM, DEMOCRACY, FREEDOM AND EDUCATION:

Implicit in the spare, matter of fact prose of the Constitution are embedded three specific economic values deserving of comment.

The first of these is the right to private property. It is assumed, in the Lockean tradition, to flow from the law of nature itself. It is not a concession by those governing to the governed. Along with the right to life and to liberty, the right to property is natural, unalienable and essential to meaningful existence. Government's responsibility, its very purpose, therefore, is to protect individuals in the enjoyment of their natural rights and to secure their persons and property against infringement or violence.

A second economic value implicit in the Constitution is support for private entrepreneurial activity. The Constitution provides for defining the national economic interest in relations with other nations, regulating interstate trade, creating a reliable money supply, securing copyright and patent rights, granting corporate charts, and protecting the sanctity of private contracts. Increased trade and commerce always improve the life for both workers and proprietors.

A third value of special significance is the rule of law. No power can be exercised except in accordance with the procedures, principles and constraints contained in the law. The vibrant economic growth which the Constitution was intended to promote are to be controlled by law. The inherent limitations of the legal order are understood to be fundamental.