Capitalism is an economic system where production and distribution are performed for profit, which is then distributed to owners and investors. Employees are hired by businesses to work for wages. While capitalism is a broadly used term, core concepts include private ownership; the right to set prices and wages; and the right to control property and determine how it is used, sold, or rented. In this system, the role of government is to ensure free markets and open competition, as well as to protect individual rights. Capitalism developed steadily across Europe in the late Middle Ages and its adoption spread industrialization throughout the world in the 19th and 20th centuries.