The economy of a nation produces a certain amount of wealth, and that wealth needs to be distributed in a way that is as efficient and fair as possible (for some notion of fair).
Capitalism attempts to distribute the wealth produced by the nation according to the value each individual (and that individual's property) contributes to the economy. There are false positives and false negatives there (people who make more money than their contribution is worth and vice versa), but that's the theory.
A fundamental assumption of that system is that almost everyone (apart from the sick or handicapped) can produce enough value to sustain themselves. Even if someone has no capital or no education, we assume that they can trade unskilled labor and that the value of that labor suffices to buy them, at least, the things they need to satisfy their most basic needs.
That assumption might become untrue in the future. If that happens, the problem won't be that we don't produce enough value to support these people, but that the current system for distributing that wealth will no longer work.
> Capitalism attempts to distribute the wealth produced by the nation according to the value each individual (and that individual's property) contributes to the economy.
Where are you getting this from? I am aware of no such attempt. I thought that, in idealized capitalism, everyone gets as much as they are able to convince or legally force others to pay them, and 'value' produced is irrelevant.
Capitalism attempts to distribute the wealth produced by the nation according to the value each individual (and that individual's property) contributes to the economy. There are false positives and false negatives there (people who make more money than their contribution is worth and vice versa), but that's the theory.
A fundamental assumption of that system is that almost everyone (apart from the sick or handicapped) can produce enough value to sustain themselves. Even if someone has no capital or no education, we assume that they can trade unskilled labor and that the value of that labor suffices to buy them, at least, the things they need to satisfy their most basic needs.
That assumption might become untrue in the future. If that happens, the problem won't be that we don't produce enough value to support these people, but that the current system for distributing that wealth will no longer work.