A capitalist free-market economy is an economic system where prices for goods and services are set freely by the forces of supply and demand and are expected by its supporters to reach their point of equilibrium without intervention by government policy.

Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. [ 1][ 2][ 3][ 4][ 5] Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, price systems, private property, property rights recognition, self-interest, economic freedom, meritocracy, work ethic, consumer sovereignty, profit motive, entrepreneurship, commodification, voluntary exchange, wage labor, sustenance and the production of commodities. [ 6][ 7][ 8][ 9][ 10][ 11] In a market economy, decision-making and investments are determined by owners of wealth, property, or ability to maneuver capital or production ability in capital and financial markets —whereas prices and the distribution of goods and services are mainly determined by competition in goods and services markets.

Capitalism is an economic system that focuses on a free market to determine the most efficient allocation of resources and sets prices based on supply and demand. Socialism is often presented as the opposite of capitalism, whereby there is no free market and the allocation of resources is determined by a central body.