What is Casino Capitalism?

Casino Capitalism is an economic system that is built on the belief that society's resources are best allocated by profit-seeking individuals betting on short-term price movements in intangible or paper assets. 

The mantra of Casino Capitalism is simply to create an infinite amount of paper assets that can be traded between individuals. The theory is that the prices of these paper assets, because they are set by many profit-seeking individuals, i.e. the Market, somehow represent a true image of society's needs, and therefore can be used to determine economic policy.

Casino Capitalism is best contrasted with another form of Capitalism called Productive Capitalism, which is built on the belief that society's resources are best allocated by profit-seeking individuals attempting to provide long-term and "valuable" products and services to members of society.  

The US is currently predominantly a Casino Capitalist country, and as time passes more and more of the economy is becoming conditioned by Casino Capitalism.

Perhaps the best way to understand Casino Capitalism is by way of a few examples. I'll provide a few future posts.