“Enron, of course, is exactly the kind of corporation which could not exist in pure capitalism. As a creature, in effect, of politicians, it was deliberately converted from a small pipeline company into an international conglomerate by conniving scoundrels who designed it from the beginning to use the power of their politician-friends to give it government contracts, subsidies, monopoly powers, and favorable regulations to force prospective customers to do business with them, essentially at gunpoint. Obviously, this is fascism, not capitalism, and what you get more and more of when you work to transform what was once the rule of clear-cut law into the rule of men (especially agenda-driving, nuance-inventing judges and lawyers).”

A government of clear-cut law has given way to rule of men by emotional canons. Capitalism is a laissez faire economic system of free men at liberty with their full array of inalienable rights intact. Socialism, Keynesian economics and other forms of lawless government of men are antithetical to the laws of nature and of nature's God, freedom, liberty and justice for all and individual sovereign rights.

Very true, and I am afraid the two are bedfellows - one follows the other....

I am not familiar with the use of the word 'capitalism' prior to Marx and Engel using it -- perhaps they coined the term. Like the word 'terrorism,' it is used to define 'the enemy.' I do not call myself a capitalist for engaging in fair trade, but my enemy will call me a greedy capitalist pig -- always trying to malign with every use of the word. While 'socialists' do not think of themselves as Marxist, communists, even socialists; they call themselves 'progressives' and 'liberals' and 'the workers' (or 'out-of-workers'). They do not see themselves as authoritarian, thieving, violent -- that's how their opposition see them though.

Fascism is the de facto form of government of the US -- often confused as 'capitalism' but is a form of socialism that enriches select 'private' businesses and the politicians that arrange those deals.