When Marx coined the term “capitalism”, he didn’t intend it as a compliment.
Free marketers took up the term in the 20th century and used the term first as an ironic badge of honor, then as a neutral descriptive term.
The left still uses it in its original Marxian sense: a system in which the owners of capital exploit the working class, who according to Marxist-Leninist theory, in fact generates all economic value.
For this reason, when defending free market principles, we should be wary of using the term “capitalism”. It bolsters the claim of our left opponents that capitalism is just another ideology or “ism”. They can then claim the post ideological mantle (e.g., “I’m not for ideology; I want to do what works. And I’m against excessive income inequality”).
Communist is a form of “capitalism” with the State being the sole Capitalist.
Thank you for making that important distinct point.