Freemarket capitalism is both unsustainable and environmentally unsound.

I would like to begin by expanding upon PRO's definition of "free market capitalism". Upon a simple search on merriam-webster. com, the definition for "capitalism" follows along the same lines as the one provided by PRO, and it goes as follows:"an economic system characterized by private or corporate ownership of capital goods, by investments that are determined by private decision, and by prices, production, and the distribution of goods that are determined mainly by competition in a free market"Given this, I would like to present an explanation, of my own for the term "free-market capitalism". While i agree with my opponent's definition if it were to be applied to Capitalism, Free-Market Capitalism is an extremely different, and extremely abstract, concept. I will be giving a libertarian explanation of the term "Free-Market Capitalism", under a minarchist (or limited, but existing, government) interpretation. My reason for choosing a minarchist-libertarian interpretation is that the term "free-market capitalism" actually originates from within classical liberal thought, with the philosopher Adam Smith and The Wealth of Nations [2]. The following shall include a crash course in libertarian thought, as this is my primary source of argumentation. This will be a very long Round 1 response, however, I wish to avoid the squabble over semantics. To begin, I will explain three Libertarian principles, as they relate to business, capitalism, and government: [3], [4] The Non-Aggression Principle: "It is immoral to use force, threat of force or coercion, against any other person. 's life, liberty, or property. Taking a person's goods or money, without their permission, is theft. Taking a person's life without their permission is murder. Taking a person's liberty, without their permission, and not in response to immoral acts is enslavement. " Principle of Self-Ownership: "You own yourself, your actions, and all things that you are able to create, utilizing rightly-owned property. " Individualism: "All people are individuals, and the terms "society", "country", "family", "corporation", etc, are simply terms used to identify a group of people. " With these basic explanations, i will begin to address the term "Free-Market Capitalism". Free-Market Capitalism, or a Free-Market Economy, would hold these characteristics: Government does not assist the business industry. (things such as bailouts, high-cost certifications, subsidies, or other such expeditures that prevent entry to the market, and forced exit from the market are disallowed. ) Businesses are allowed to succeed, or fail, on their own. Government regulation is minimal. (I will explain this in greater detail later. )* Corporations do not hold an identity separate from it's owners. (Lawsuits are made directly against the owner's, rather than the company. ) No industry is held entirely by government. (Schools/hospitals, etc are able to crop up within any county, provided they have the appropriate licensure) Consumers are not forced to purchase ANY goods or services (yes, this includes insurance) These characteristics are based upon a minarchist Libertarian view, and selected specifically because the libertarian explanation of the free-market is an extremely in-depth analysis of free-market capitalism. This website [1] gives a much more concise idea of a free-market, but once again, the definition too simplistic for this debate. The above principles lead to a much deeper understanding of the free market. If you (PRO) would like to dispute any of these characteristics, or perhaps avoid the libertarian view of free-market capitalism, we can do this within the comment section, as I hoped the meat of this debate would begin in Round Two. What is the problem? Government regulation, laws, and intervention prevents efficient use of resources, and prohibits innovative actions that would lower the costs to society. What can be done to improve? Government regulations, and laws, can be minimized, with government intervention completely removed from the business world; property laws can be created which allow companies to "own" land, water, etc, and internalize social costs. I look forward to PRO's opening arguments. If you (PRO) would like to address any of the above before continuing this debate, i will look for your concerns within the comment section. My thanks to my opponent for instigating a topic which is sure to a fun and engaging debate; and my thanks to the audience for reading. I am looking forward to a great debate! [1] . http://www.libertarianism.org...;[2] . http://www.biography.com...;[3] ;*[4] ;* *If inaccessible, search "The Philosophy of Liberty", sources [4] and [3] are the first and second videos, respectively.