Capitalism is an instance of feudalism, with money replacing land, corporations replacing fiefs, wealthy individuals replacing lords, skilled workers replacing warriors. I’m convinced that the feudalist pattern represents the intrinsic form of government that humans will form when left to their own devices, so this was inevitable.

However, the genius behind capitalism is that it tied acquisition of resources and power to human advancement. You can’t take money by force; you can only acquire it through consent, in exchange for providing a good or service which the buyer values more than the money. People who would otherwise be fighting wars over territory are instead doing their hardest to create and sell products. Sure, all sorts of underhanded and disgusting things happen on a routine basis, but ultimately, effort that would be put into killing is instead put into trade – that’s a tremendous accomplishment.