Notice the quotation marks.

When someone says they hate capitalism, I sometimes ask them why. If they talk to me, I realize they actually hate corporatism, a corrupt state, and crony-capitalism.

The majority don’t say, “I’m disgusted by the idea of voluntary association between individuals.”

They might say, “I hate that massive corporations exploit people and unfairly kill competition and the pharmaceutical monopolies and corrupt government with money and we’re slaves and I hate capitalism.”

When someone who loves markets faces a socialist by saying “capitalism is the greatest thing ever,” they are, in the socialist’s eyes, saying, “corporations that work with government to suppress competition are the greatest thing ever.”

So, to make a conversation productive, start by educating your adversary on what your definition of capitalism is, or—even better—by being more precise in explaining what you value.

Explain, “I support a free market and a society where every person is free from authoritarian oppression” or “I believe human interactions should be voluntary.”

At this point, capitalism is too societally bastardized to be effective. The same appears true with socialism and communism. For the sake of accurate communication, it’s time to move on to more precise terms.