"Still making the usual "socialist" mistake of confusing "capitalism" for a political ideology are we Richard Bridge?? FYI it's not never, ever has been."

Really?

I would suggest there are plenty of people active in Western politics whose only ideology is that of individualism, free-market economics and the minimisation of state intervention. In the UK and US it's the default position. The fact it's failed utterly (being totally unable to regulate itself and stem it's worst excesses) and state intervention is now universally accepted might indicate we need to rethink the capitalist ideal.

It's debatable whether capitalism is more than an economic system (though I would suggest it has certainly become so and many of it's early adherents saw it as such - up to an including Thatcher), but the word has become interchangeable with 'democracy' even though it's anything but.