key features of capitalism
companies : capitalism permits the creation of companies or business organizations that exist separately from the people associated with them.
profit motive
the profit motive implies a critical assumption about human nature-that human beings are economic creatures who recognize and are motivated by their own monetary interests.
in his famous treatise on political economy,An inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776),Adam Smith explained how free competition makes individual pursuit of self-interest socially beneficial .