Terms such as "property" and "markets" are fundamental to any explanation of capitalism. However, they are often vaguely applied or misused. Being clear about definitions can help us understand the way capitalism truly functions. # Property These days, property is usually defined as a legal entitlement. It is backed by a system of laws. This system of laws is not neutral, and favours some over others. For instance, it favours those who have access to the best lawyers. However, before the enclosure movement in England, property was viewed in terms of the use or control of an asset. So the peasants who worked the land had a right to its use. See [[The Enclosure movement changed the way land was used in England]] It would be beneficial to society if we restored the older meaning of property, and ask of any asset, "Who can make the best use of this property?" # Markets When people talk about markets for ideas, or political markets, they are misusing the word "markets", because there is nothing being traded or exchanged. The looseness of the term "market" means that it becomes less useful as a defining feature of capitalism. --- Source: Hodgson, Geoffrey Martin. Conceptualizing Capitalism: Institutions, Evolution, Future. Chicago ; London: The University of Chicago Press, 2015.