[On the Instability of Republics]

[FoxyBunny]

Vikings were definitely capitalists. They were free traders who established an enormous empire, largely through trade. They elected leaders from among the most prosperous men of the area and a man could rise or decline in social standing based upon his skill in trade. It was, in essence, the business leaders who made the laws and passed the judgments. They accumulated wealth, made trade agreements, had consortiums, and conquered foreign lands financially.

ProfessorX, I only said that definition was closer to my understanding than yours from Merriam-Webster. Here are some other definitions:

I think it interesting that ONLY the one definition you found refers to involvement of the state or country and would depend then upon formed central governments, in opposition to my previous statements. Meanwhile, every other definition I found supports my claim that it is probably as old as trade.

Economic system based (to a varying degree) on private ownership of the factors of production (capital, land, and labor) employed in generation of profits. It is the oldest and most common of all economic systems and, in general, is synonymous with free market system.
Definition by businessdictionary.com


An economic system in which the means of production and distribution are privately or corporately owned and development is proportionate to the accumulation and reinvestment of profits gained in a free market.
Source: Dictionary.com, shared by Thefreedictionary.com, dictionary.reference.com and answers.com.

And from wordIQ.com we get:

Capitalism generally refers to

• in philosophy and politics, a social system based on the principle of individual rights, including property rights.

• in economics, a combination of economic practices that became institutionalized in Europe between the 16th and 19th centuries, especially involving the right of individuals and groups of individuals acting as "legal persons" (or corporations) to buy and sell capital goods such as land, labor, and money (see finance and credit), in a free market (see trade), and relying on the enforcement by the state of private property rights rather than feudal obligations.

• additionally, it may mean competing theories that developed in the 19th century, in the context of the industrial revolution, and 20th century, in the context of the Cold War, meant to justify the private ownership of capital, to explain the operation of such markets, and to guide the application or elimination of government regulation of property and markets. (See economics, political economy, laissez-faire)

• a belief in the advantages of such practices.