Why Capitalism is better than Socialism
By Abigail
The tyranny of a socialist economy, like that from which Russia suffered for over half a century, destroys the success and growth of a nation unlike that of a capitalistic society that the United States enjoys. What makes a capitalistic society more successful? Capitalism encourages economic growth, promotes private industry, sees itself as a “beacon of freedom”, and is not based on the common good of the country but rather the success of the individual is the basis for the success of the country.
First, the allowance of individuals to own their own business for the purpose of generating profit is the bases to capitalism. This promotes a healthy economy because individuals don’t have a cap on success. They can achieve any goal to which they aspire. The prices are driven by supply and demand and by competition. (2) However, there are those who believe that “spreading the wealth”, such as in a socialist economy, is for the betterment of the country. The idea is that it benefits the country as a whole instead of an individual’s private success. . Regrettably, when Lenin put socialism into place in the early 1900’s with the laws of abolition of private property and the “suppression of money” he soon learned that he had to mix the types of economies in order to keep from a catastrophic failure. (1)
Second, having the ability to compete with other businesses for profit drives the economy by encouraging business to be actively engaged in the economy. On the other hand, without the compensation of one’s effort, the motivation for one to do well and the drive to have higher production is eliminated. (2) Accordingly, having a free market, which is what capitalism promotes, is needed to support a successful economy. In Richard Pipe's article "The Soviet Tragedy..." he states that Gorbachev, the leader of Russia during the 80's, knew a socialist economy wouldn't be able to support a country that was a main world power. A government should not be an almighty power that decides which businesses fail and which ones succeed. Consequently, Gorbachev began a new strategy called glasnost “openness” and perestroika “restructuring” in order “to increase the free flow of goods”. They transferred from a state controlled economy to a market economy called a federal presidential republic, in 1998. On the other hand, a socialist economy emphasizes that the distribution of profit throughout society is complementary to possibly lower wages. Even though people make less, they all benefit from the equal share of services provided by the government. This could include free continued education, sports training, free medical or more. Ultimately, under this type of economy the Russian people lost their businesses and pride of ownership. I argue that if wages are taken away from hard working citizens by way of higher taxes in-order to give them to individuals who don’t or can’t work, then what is the benefit to the hard workers to continue working and not just sitting back and waiting for someone to pay their way also?
Finally, based on statistics, a capitalistic free-market society is more successful and productive than a socialist economy. At this point, the United Kingdom, United States, Australia, New Zealand, and Austria are examples of countries that have a capitalistic economy. China, Denmark, Canada, Norway, Sweden, Ireland, and Netherlands are examples of countries that have a socialistic economy. According to google’s website for Russia’s GDP (3), the GDP’s of the capitalistic society vs a socialistic society are vastly different. The GDP of the US is $16.77 trillion or 53,041.98 million per capital and the UK’s is $2.678 trillion or $41,077.47 million per capita in comparison to Russia’s $2.097 trillion or $14, 611.70 million per capita. According to Capitalism vs Socialism article (2), “Because socialism favors the community over the individual, the loss of freedoms and rights is deemed undemocratic at best and totalitarian at worst”. In other words, a socialist government doesn’t seem to think the loss of freedoms is a big deal because they are looking at the society as a whole. Trotsky states in his “War or Peace” speech that the dynasties of Russia were unable to compromise because they didn’t want to give up their personal gains and that their interests did not lie with the Russian people. Woodrow Wilson said in his speech “A Road Away from a Revolution” that the Russian people had nothing to look forward to or gain because their basic freedoms and rights to own land and flourish had been stripped from them bringing a lower moral. When Russia’s government went through a restructuring under Gorbachev and his successor Boris Yeltsin in 1991, even though there was a decade of ups and downs, the GDP of Russia jumped from a 619.9 per capita to a high of 15,588.8 in 2013. As a result, it enjoyed nine straight years of an average 7% growth. This comes from giving some of the power back to the people and to private industry.
As one can see, businesses being able to compete with one another and people being able to own private property for the purpose of personal gain and compensation of efforts yield a higher production rate creating a better GDP for the country as a whole. The morale of the people is higher and the sense of pride of ownership and pride of country come together to produce a successful economy. Therefore, it is my claim that a capitalistic economy is better for a country and a people than a socialistic one.
SOURCES:
(1 The Soviet Tragedy: A History of Socialism in Russia, 1917-1991 and Russia Under the Bolshevik Regime | Richard Pipes. https://fee.org/articles/the-soviet-tragedy-a-history-of-socialism-in-russia-1917-1991-and-russia-under
(2) “Capitalism vs Socialism”. Diffen.com.Diffen LLC,n.d.Web.22 March 2017.http://www.diffen.com/difference/Capitalism_vs_Socialism
(3) google.com.5 Feb 2017.world bank public data. 22 March 2017. https://www.google.com/#q=gdp+russia&*&spf=1
(4) russianpedia.rt.com. © Autonomous Nonprofit Organization “TV-Novosti”, 2005–2017. All rights reserved.Basic facts about Russia-economy. http://russiapedia.rt.com/basic-facts-about-russia/economy/
(5) knoema.com. 22 Feb 2017. GDP per capita by country. 22 March 2017.https://knoema.com/pjeqzh/gdp-per-capita-by-country-1980-2014
(6) "Union of Soviet Socialist Republics." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. . Encyclopedia.com. 22 Mar. 2017 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.
(7) Trotsky, Leon. “War and Peace: Our Revolution.” 20 Mar. 1917, New York
(8) Wilson, Woodrow. “A Road Away from a Revolution”1923
First, the allowance of individuals to own their own business for the purpose of generating profit is the bases to capitalism. This promotes a healthy economy because individuals don’t have a cap on success. They can achieve any goal to which they aspire. The prices are driven by supply and demand and by competition. (2) However, there are those who believe that “spreading the wealth”, such as in a socialist economy, is for the betterment of the country. The idea is that it benefits the country as a whole instead of an individual’s private success. . Regrettably, when Lenin put socialism into place in the early 1900’s with the laws of abolition of private property and the “suppression of money” he soon learned that he had to mix the types of economies in order to keep from a catastrophic failure. (1)
Second, having the ability to compete with other businesses for profit drives the economy by encouraging business to be actively engaged in the economy. On the other hand, without the compensation of one’s effort, the motivation for one to do well and the drive to have higher production is eliminated. (2) Accordingly, having a free market, which is what capitalism promotes, is needed to support a successful economy. In Richard Pipe's article "The Soviet Tragedy..." he states that Gorbachev, the leader of Russia during the 80's, knew a socialist economy wouldn't be able to support a country that was a main world power. A government should not be an almighty power that decides which businesses fail and which ones succeed. Consequently, Gorbachev began a new strategy called glasnost “openness” and perestroika “restructuring” in order “to increase the free flow of goods”. They transferred from a state controlled economy to a market economy called a federal presidential republic, in 1998. On the other hand, a socialist economy emphasizes that the distribution of profit throughout society is complementary to possibly lower wages. Even though people make less, they all benefit from the equal share of services provided by the government. This could include free continued education, sports training, free medical or more. Ultimately, under this type of economy the Russian people lost their businesses and pride of ownership. I argue that if wages are taken away from hard working citizens by way of higher taxes in-order to give them to individuals who don’t or can’t work, then what is the benefit to the hard workers to continue working and not just sitting back and waiting for someone to pay their way also?
Finally, based on statistics, a capitalistic free-market society is more successful and productive than a socialist economy. At this point, the United Kingdom, United States, Australia, New Zealand, and Austria are examples of countries that have a capitalistic economy. China, Denmark, Canada, Norway, Sweden, Ireland, and Netherlands are examples of countries that have a socialistic economy. According to google’s website for Russia’s GDP (3), the GDP’s of the capitalistic society vs a socialistic society are vastly different. The GDP of the US is $16.77 trillion or 53,041.98 million per capital and the UK’s is $2.678 trillion or $41,077.47 million per capita in comparison to Russia’s $2.097 trillion or $14, 611.70 million per capita. According to Capitalism vs Socialism article (2), “Because socialism favors the community over the individual, the loss of freedoms and rights is deemed undemocratic at best and totalitarian at worst”. In other words, a socialist government doesn’t seem to think the loss of freedoms is a big deal because they are looking at the society as a whole. Trotsky states in his “War or Peace” speech that the dynasties of Russia were unable to compromise because they didn’t want to give up their personal gains and that their interests did not lie with the Russian people. Woodrow Wilson said in his speech “A Road Away from a Revolution” that the Russian people had nothing to look forward to or gain because their basic freedoms and rights to own land and flourish had been stripped from them bringing a lower moral. When Russia’s government went through a restructuring under Gorbachev and his successor Boris Yeltsin in 1991, even though there was a decade of ups and downs, the GDP of Russia jumped from a 619.9 per capita to a high of 15,588.8 in 2013. As a result, it enjoyed nine straight years of an average 7% growth. This comes from giving some of the power back to the people and to private industry.
As one can see, businesses being able to compete with one another and people being able to own private property for the purpose of personal gain and compensation of efforts yield a higher production rate creating a better GDP for the country as a whole. The morale of the people is higher and the sense of pride of ownership and pride of country come together to produce a successful economy. Therefore, it is my claim that a capitalistic economy is better for a country and a people than a socialistic one.
SOURCES:
(1 The Soviet Tragedy: A History of Socialism in Russia, 1917-1991 and Russia Under the Bolshevik Regime | Richard Pipes. https://fee.org/articles/the-soviet-tragedy-a-history-of-socialism-in-russia-1917-1991-and-russia-under
(2) “Capitalism vs Socialism”. Diffen.com.Diffen LLC,n.d.Web.22 March 2017.http://www.diffen.com/difference/Capitalism_vs_Socialism
(3) google.com.5 Feb 2017.world bank public data. 22 March 2017. https://www.google.com/#q=gdp+russia&*&spf=1
(4) russianpedia.rt.com. © Autonomous Nonprofit Organization “TV-Novosti”, 2005–2017. All rights reserved.Basic facts about Russia-economy. http://russiapedia.rt.com/basic-facts-about-russia/economy/
(5) knoema.com. 22 Feb 2017. GDP per capita by country. 22 March 2017.https://knoema.com/pjeqzh/gdp-per-capita-by-country-1980-2014
(6) "Union of Soviet Socialist Republics." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. . Encyclopedia.com. 22 Mar. 2017 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.
(7) Trotsky, Leon. “War and Peace: Our Revolution.” 20 Mar. 1917, New York
(8) Wilson, Woodrow. “A Road Away from a Revolution”1923