🌟 Word of the Day — 27 Ṣafar 1447 AH, August 21, 2025 ‘Capitalism’ 🌟

Coach Ward

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Estimated Read Time: 3–4 min read

Introduction

Welcome back to the Business English Word of the Day series, where language meets leadership.

Today’s word is capitalism: a term that sparks debate in boardrooms, classrooms, and even coffee shops. Whether you see it as the engine of innovation or as the root of inequality, capitalism is one of the most important concepts shaping modern economies. But as with all powerful systems, it must be understood with nuance.

📖 What Does “Capitalism” Mean?

Capitalism is an economic system where private individuals or companies own and control the means of production, distribution, and exchange of goods and services.

Key features include:

• Private Ownership: Factories, land, businesses, and resources are owned by individuals rather than the state.

• Profit Motive: The primary goal of business activity is profit generation.

• Free Market: Prices and competition are largely determined by supply and demand.

In everyday terms, capitalism means people can start businesses, take risks, and reap rewards, or losses.

🧬 Word Origin: Where Does “Capitalism” Come From?

The word capital comes from the Latin caput, meaning “head,” later evolving into a term for wealth, money, or assets. Capitalism itself emerged in the mid-19th century, used to describe a system centered on capital accumulation, competition, and private control of resources.

🧠 Why Capitalism Matters in Business

Capitalism is the framework under which most modern companies operate. It rewards innovation, efficiency, and risk-taking, but it can also produce inequality, exploitation, and short-termism if left unchecked.

Understanding the term is critical for business leaders because it sets the playing field: everything from startup culture to multinational corporations exists within capitalism’s rules.

🙋 Who Uses “Capitalism” (and Why)?

• Entrepreneurs: To celebrate freedom, risk, and reward.

• Economists: To analyze systems of wealth distribution.

• Policy Makers: To debate regulations and reforms.

• Everyday People: To critique or defend the system that governs their livelihoods.

❤️ The Coach Ward Reflection

As a Muslim and a proponent of Islamic finance, I view capitalism with extreme caution. In fact, I am opposed to capitalism for capitalisms’ sake, especially the aspect of prioritizing profits over everything else. While it encourages enterprise and growth, it often places profit above people and allows practices like riba (interest), which Islam prohibits.

My work in business English exposes me to professionals across faiths and ideologies, and this diversity reminds me that systems like capitalism must be questioned and re-examined. Islam teaches us balance: trade is allowed, profit is allowed, but justice, fairness, and compassion must never be compromised.

📌 Examples in Action

• “Capitalism fuels innovation, but it also widens inequality.”

• “Islamic finance offers an ethical alternative to traditional capitalism.”

• “Startups thrive in a capitalist system, but regulation ensures fairness.”

🚀 Your Turn

Reflect: Do you think capitalism encourages fairness, or greed? How does your worldview, faith, or personal philosophy shape your opinion of this system?

👉 Let’s keep growing, one word at a time!