Burlington High
School
Burlington, Kansas
Teacher: Devra Parker
Capitalist or
Socialist?
By Adam Futrell
12th grade
In the Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia, Capitalism is defined as an economic society in which almost all or most of the means of production are privately owned and operated, and where investment and the production, distribution and prices of commodities (goods and services) are determined privately in a free market, rather than by the state. There are many charactorists that define a capitalist society, like one being able to own private property and free enterprise. This form of economy allows average citizens to become wealthy and have a steady profit from their business. If we take a closer look at the private property aspect of a capitalist society, it is not only ownership of small businesses but ownership of large companies as well. In this day and age, we have companies like Wal-Mart and Microsoft which are private owned, for the most part. A free market allows the public to take part in these large companies, too; The Stock Market is one of them. A person can go out and buy stock in these companies, and, in turn, make money by selling their shares to other buyers.
Wikipedia defines Socialism as where an ideology with the core belief that a society should exist in which popular collectives control the means of power, and therefore the means of production. There are many types of socialisms ranging from Anarchism to Anarcho-synicalism. In the Wikipedia, it mentions that Marx states that a socialist economy can be controlled by the working class. In some cases of socialist economies, many have further developed into communist governments, but Marxism and Communism are both branches of socialism. As a result of the unstable government that exists within a socialist economy, many times the nation itself begins to fall and gives rise to anarchy and dictators. A socialist society is very unmanagable; many times the entire economy will give in and collapse, causing many problems for the people of the nation. In previous attempts, socialism has not yet succeeded in creating a working socialist government, and many times that type of economy doesn’t really help the people. It takes items away from the people; items that are necessary, like food and clothing.
[It is] my strong belief, the United States is, for the most part, a Capitalist society. Our right to own our own stores and business and become wealthy is the American dream. Many people come to the United States every year looking for that same opportunity. As we are a free market economy, anyone can start his own business and the government can’t tell him what to make or how to make it. As we strive to be a free society, not everyone is equal due to the fact that we are a free market society. Many people are going to have more money and more possession than their neighbors. Yes, everyone is equal as a race, but not everyone is equal economically.
If were were to compare the United States to [a] socialist country, like Russia, we would find that the two are similar in some ways but...different [in other ways. Russia, in it’s socialist period, had absolute control over everything. What was once a farmer’s food became everyone’s food, and a lot of people went hungry. In the United States, there are a plethora of people who make food for other people. We have a large number of farmers whose crops go to the production of food sold to the public, and they are paid to do so. It is not one person’s responsibility to feed the nation.
A socialist economy is usually the brain-child of a dictatorship. Many dictators in the past have instituted a socialist economy in the countries they have taken over. The most famous ones are Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, and Josef Stalin, but there are many more. In comparison, the United States, [is not] a socialist society. [It is] not ruled by a dictator, and has never been ruled by one since it gained its independence from Great Britain. It is very possible for a non-dictatorship to institute a socialist economy, but it doesn’t happen very often. In this day and age, we have people like Kim Jong Ill and Fidel Castro. We could probably say that many of the enemies that the United States has been up against are socialist nations. Cuba was the first nation in the Western Hemisphere to become a socialist society, with help from Castro, of course.
In conclusion, the United States is a capitalist society, based upon the characteristics of a socialist and a capitalist economy. There are [socialistic] aspects, but they are...few. In my personal opinion, there is no other way to describe the United States other than being a capitalist, free market economy.
Answers To Questions Prompted By The Required Reading
Seven
Principles of Sound Public Policy
Q1- What does
Mr. Reed mean when he says "Equal people are not free."?
In a free society, where there is a free market economy, there are always going to be those kind of people who are above other people economically. They have more money then always of other people. When there is a free market economy, where people can start up their own business, they will have more money and more material possessions then other people. Not only that we are different economically, but people in the United States have different abilities and talents than the rest of the people.
Q2- What is the
deadly trade-off to reliance upon government, according to Reed?
He stated that the government has nothing to give, except for what it has taken from someone else. He also stated that a government that’s big enough to give you everything you want, is also big enough to take everything from you. Many things that are bought by the government, are bought with the money of other people.
The Calf of
Democracy
Q3- Why did
the Founding Fathers assure that the United States became a republic rather than
a pure democracy?
A republic gives the people some say in what goes on in the government. If the United States were a pure democracy, the American people would be able to tell the government what to do. In a pure democracy, everything is decided by a vote, where the majority rules. Everything becomes a public issue, when in all reality, some issues should be private issues. A pure democracy is very unstable and hard to maintain.
Q4- What is the
saving grace of democracy according to Lawrence Reed?
The saving grace of democracy is the right to vote. It is ballots, not bullets that solve disputes, and they often make very important decisions by a voting process.
Freedom Is Not
a Doctrine
Q5- Richard
Haas gives two unusual reasons for advocating democracy. What are they?
He states that the two reasons are a campaign against terrorism and foreign policy.
Q6- Give two reasons you
personally would promote democracy.
I would support a democracy, because if you take a long hard look at communist societies and nations who are politically unstable, you will see who actually suffers. It is not the nation that suffers, the people suffer. Many times, the people of the nation are the ones who are affected directly by a non-democratic government
My second reason would be for the freedoms, privileges and rights we have in the United States. As a free, democratic society, we have many things that other countries could only dream of having. This is made possible by being a democratic-type government. If we were a dictatorship or a monarchy, we would be able to do whatever we wanted.
Q7- Comment (any length) on
President Bush's current foreign policy.
In my honest opinion, I think that his foreign policy could do better, but it’s done a great job so far. I think that as a nation we need to stop trying to impose democracy on the rest of the world. It is not our place to try to force our customs and beliefs on other parts of the world. For the war on terrorism and the nuclear threat, I feel very threatened knowing that a nation like North Korea has the power to destroy major sections of our territory. I think President Bush has done a fantastic job on trying to deter the nuclear threat and promote peace through the world. The job he did in Iraq was amazing, they are now trying to become a democratic society, but that was their choice. We weren’t over there trying to shove democracy down their throats. Even if we try as hard as we can, there are going to be those few people who do not like what we are doing as a nation and are going to take it out on us through terrorist attacks. Maybe, we are just provoking another attack like September 11th or we could be promoting peace.
Internet Activities
Visit the
Society for Disseminating Economic Knowledge: "New Economic School-Georgia"
Georgia was part of the old Soviet Union.
You will find this web site by browsing the Economic Freedom Network and
scrolling to "S" for Society.
http://www.freetheworld.com/other.html On first impression the site may
appear amateurish. The English translation may be materialized only partially.
However it provides a link to a very well done flash presentation.
http://www.isil.org/resources/introduction.swf
Q8- How did you interpret each of the four different hats ("officials with fine hats")?
I interpreted them as being several people in society that seemingly have a lot of authority. I pictured them as being a leader, which is suggested by the crown. The second person I thought was to be a businessman; I figured that’s what it was because of the top hat he was wearing. The next one I pictured as being a scholar, someone of very high intelligence. And finally, the last one would most likely be some prestigious, wealthy person, because of the derby he was wearing. These are the individuals that, we as a people have chosen to be our leaders.
Q9- How did you interpret the
megaphone, baby, knife/gun ("No matter how officials are selected")?
I thought the megaphone would represent a type of voice selection. I would probably say that a group of people agreed verbally to select their leader. The baby could possibly be that the individual was born into that position, for example; a male born into a royal family, who eventually takes over the throne. The knife/gun would obviously represent force. In the instance of a dictatorship, that person forced their way to the top.
Q10- Browse the "Favorite Links" of the Economic Freedom Network http://www.freetheworld.com/other.html and share one of your favorite discoveries with us. Make sure you copy the url. Tell us why you chose it.
I chose Mexico, and when I looked at http://www.cidac.org/vnm/db2/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=59 I found that they export 88.4% of their goods to the United States
Q11- Once again go to www.freetheworld.com and this time note the question asked near the top of the page: "How much economic freedom exists in your country?" and randomly choose five countries. List the name of each and their highest and lowest year for economic freedom.
We in the United
States, we have a large amount of economic freedom. We can start our own
businesses and we have the ability to have a privately owned business, without
any government control.
Germany
Lowest Year: 1975 (6.7)
Highest Year: 2000 (7.6)
Australia
Lowest Year: 1975 (6.2)
Highest Year: 2000 (8.0)
China
Lowest Year: 1980 (4.0)
Highest Year: 2003 (6.0)
Mexico
Lowest Year: 1985 (4.7)
Highest Year: 1970 (6.6)
Brazil
Lowest Year: 1985 (3.6)
Highest Year: 2002 (6.1)
Q12- Which of your five countries had the greatest degree of economic freedom according to this exercise?
Considering the data, out of my 5 countries, I would have to say that Australia currently has the greatest degree of economic freedom.
Q13- What was the summary rating and rank in the year it achieved this degree of
economic freedom?
(You can find this information by clicking on the
Economic Freedom of the World: 2004 Annual Report and then choosing
Chapter 3 and scrolling to your chosen country.)
Australia achieved a summery rating of 8.0 with a rank of 9 in the year 2000.