From Envirowiki

Capitalism is the idea that if everyone tries to create as much economic profit for themselves, this will somehow come to the benefit of society in general. It somehow manages to ignore the fact that all profit is derived from somewhere - either from the exploitation of the labour of others, or from natural resources. Capitalism is an egocentric doctrine (that the best for the self is best for everything).

Most of dominant human culture currently operates under some variation of a capitalist system (usually a socialist/capitalist hybrid, with markets, as well as social services like welfare, health systems, and public education). The ideals espoused by the leaders of these systems are usually those of the laissez faire system of free market, however such a system has not existed in the last few centuries, and more often, the operating systems are a combination of socialism, capitalism, and fascism.

Often capitalism is falsely dichotomised with communism, a remnant of McCarthism. In reality, there are any number of alternatives to capitalism, including state socialism, anarchism and the gift economy, and fascism.