Capitalism is based upon the ideas of the economist John Smith. Smith wrote in his book, The Wealth of Nations, about an economy free of government intervention. Each citizen can pursue his own best interest within the economy. Inturn, the society would benefit without government becoming involved. The French term laissez faire, meaning "let them do", is generally used to describe Smith's capitalistic system. Smiths ideas are usually broken down into four basic ideas. The first being that an individual should be responsible for his own pr ....