Capitalists for Capitalism Manifesto
The Call for Principled Business
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Stand publicly with capitalists who believe principled business is the greatest force for human progress.
Overview
Just because someone is a businessperson doesn't mean they support capitalism. Capitalism is an economic system based on free and voluntary production and trade. That means it is fundamentally based on certain principles, like respect for individual agency, creating value, opportunity to innovate, collaboration, and bottom-up experimentation. Too few businesspeople embody these principles in their actions and even fewer actively stand up for these principles and the system of capitalism itself.
This is a call to build a movement of business leaders that are actually for capitalism, advance the principles that have built the modern world, and are critical to humanity's future prosperity.
This manifesto is a call to build a movement of principled business.
Section 1
Why is this needed?
Too few capitalists understand, implement, or stand up for the principles of capitalism.
Changing this would not only strengthen the moral underpinnings of how business is conducted, but also unleash incredible prosperity. There is a fundamental human desire to treat people well and for greater well-being for ourselves, our loved ones, and others. Capitalism has been and continues to be the greatest system at providing exactly that for humanity.
Capitalism is not just an abstract theory. It is brought to life through those who do business, and so business leaders are in a unique position as those who implement capitalism, witness its inner workings, and provide direction for its future activities.
As such, this manifesto calls for business leaders to realize that they are the heroes of society, and to lean into that role.
If capitalists don't stand for capitalism, we cannot expect others to.
Being the best representatives of capitalism means recognizing that it lives through the daily choices and actions of business leaders.
Being the best advocates of capitalism means speaking up for capitalism, not just one's own business interests.
Being the best collaborators in capitalism means finding ways to do more business with others based on the principles of capitalism.
For investors
- Evaluating the principles of those you invest in and back those who are committed to the principles of capitalism
- Mentoring your portfolio companies to embrace these principles
- Seeking to use the examples of those companies you support not only on how to make more money, but how to leverage capitalism to make people's lives better
For executives
- Incorporating the principles of capitalism into the way you level up your employees
- Developing programs for your company that imbue the principles of capitalism in your culture and brand
- Leveraging your position to share stories as examples of capitalism advancing humanity
For entrepreneurs
- Making the principles of capitalism core to the way your business operates
- Seeking out values-aligned investors, team members, and other partners
- Making the goal of your business to show what can be done through the free and voluntary interactions of people
For nonprofit leaders
- Seeing for-profit entities as contributors to society as much as nonprofit entities
- Learning from for-profit entities
- Elevating capitalism and others who embrace its principles as a solution to many social problems
Section 2
What is Capitalism?
Simply put, capitalism is an economic system that's based on private ownership of capital goods, by investments that are determined by private decision, and by prices, production, and the distribution of goods that are determined by the free and voluntary trade between them.
This was a revolutionary system compared to the systems that came before it.
Historical systems
Feudalism
Wealth and power concentrated in landowners; peasants worked the land in exchange for protection and subsistence.
Mercantilism
Focused on maximizing national wealth through strict regulation of trade and accumulation of precious metals.
Socialism
Means of production owned and directed collectively, either by the state or the workers.
Communism
Classless society where all property and resources are communally owned.
Fascism
Private ownership exists, but the state directs the use of that property to serve national goals.
Capitalism too is based on certain underlying principles. At its core is a belief in the principle of Respect for Individual Agency.
Core principles
Creating Value
Rather than relying on a conception of preordained value, there is a presumption that value is determined by what people reveal is valuable to themselves. Profit is a byproduct of creating value for others that did not exist before.
Opportunity to Create
Individuals have the agency to start new businesses, improve existing ones, develop new products or services, and pursue opportunities that others do not see or believe in.
Collaboration
Capitalism isn't about competition as much as collaboration, and finding ways to help each other. Voluntary trade only happens when interests align in a win-win-win scenario.
Bottom-Up Experimentation
Progress comes from experimentation. When individuals and private entities try new ideas, they uncover insights and innovations that might otherwise be missed.
The evidence
85% → 9.2%
Global extreme poverty rate decline over 200 years
1,248%
Increase in global GDP per capita, 1982–2022
28.5 → 71 years
Global average life expectancy, 1800–2022
12% → 87%
World literacy rate, 1820–2022
The case for capitalism is not merely that it delivers the best results for people. It is also that it respects the moral authority of every individual.
Section 3
The Problem: Capitalists Against Capitalism
Given all of the positive impacts of capitalism on humanity, why are business leaders themselves too often anti-capitalist?
- Some capitalists don't understand capitalism as a system.
- Some capitalists are actively opposed to capitalism as a system.
- Some capitalists are scared to speak out for fear of being attacked.
- Some capitalists are not really practicing capitalism — they use regulation and special privileges to protect themselves from competition.
- Some capitalists are unprepared to defend capitalism effectively.
If capitalists don't stand for capitalism, why would anyone else?
For those that are not yet sure of the benefits or importance of capitalism, there is a need to change the dominant, negative narrative.
For those who feel alone, there is a need for business leaders to have a peer-support network to stand up for capitalism.
For the next generation, we need the best and brightest to enter business as a way to make the world freer and more prosperous.
Section 4
The Solution: Capitalists For Capitalism
Capitalism is not just a theory. It is a system implemented and practiced in the real world. At its heart are business leaders and the businesses they run.
This is why it is imperative for capitalists who support the principles of capitalism to do three things:
Be the best representatives
Embody the principles of Respect, Value Creation, Aligning Interests, Collaboration, and Opportunity through actions.
Be the best advocates
Speaking openly about the benefits of capitalism as a system, sharing stories as business leaders, and encouraging others to support the system.
Be the best collaborators
Engaging in trade and business relationships with others who share these values. Not only is this good for capitalism, it is good for business as well.
Business as disruption
Uber broke the stranglehold of taxi monopolies with ridesharing.
WhatsApp, Telegram, and Signal created new communication tools that protect the privacy of users.
Bitcoin and the blockchain created alternative mechanisms for establishing trust.
Section 5
Two Futures
Why does this matter? Because the progress humanity has achieved under capitalism over the past 200 years is not guaranteed to continue for the next 200.
Nothing guarantees that progress will continue — there is every possibility that humanity will regress. And it is up to those at the forefront of the most powerful system for progress, to do what they can to advance it.
Imagine young people dreaming of being entrepreneurs, executives, innovators who want to create value previously thought impossible. Imagine a world without poverty, where life expectancy is well over 100 years, literacy is universal.
This is a call for capitalists to bring about that future by being for capitalism.
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