Burlington High School
Burlington, Kansas
Teacher: Devra Parker

Socialistic Society
By Kimberley Moerer
12^th Grade

How is our government run?  Do the people decide every aspect of our economy or does our government?  Is it a more capitalistic government or more of a socialistic?  Are we a completely free country or are we governed completely by our central administration? Do we have the choice of how our government is run or is it forced upon us?  There are many different components of our national government and many different ways to perceive it.  I believe that our government is more socialistic than anything else.
 

First, let us start by defining the two different types of economy.  Capitalism is an economic system in which the means of production and distribution are privately or corporately owned and development is proportionate to the accumulation and reinvestment of profits gained in a free market.  Socialism is any of various theories or systems of social organization in which the means of producing and distributing goods is owned collectively or by a centralized government that often plans and controls the economy.  After reading these definitions, it is easy to see that a socialistic government may not give us as much freedom as a capitalistic, but it will keep affairs in order much better.

In Article I Section 8 of our Constitution, it states all the powers granted to Congress.  They have the sole power to control much of our economy.  Clause I states that Congress can decide state taxes as long as they are uniform.  The Commerce Clause regulates commerce with foreign nations and among the several states.  In other words, no states can trade with any other foreign nations unless they are granted that power by Congress.   Congress makes many of the rules that govern our country.  For example, in order to become a citizen, one must take a written test and live in this country for so many years.  These rules and regulations came from Congress.  This legislative branch has the power to control the money in our economy; they regulate the value, they create the measurements of weights and balances, and they make the money. 

With this in mind, we know that there are many different small businesses and locally-owned businesses in this country.  This still does not constitute a capitalistic government.  Although these businesses exist, they are controlled by our government.  The regulations for these businesses to begin are made by our administration.  They decide the fire codes, all the safety codes, what we can and cannot have in our store. 

Our country is considered free.  This is very true; we have created a great democracy in our land.  One factor that must be considered, though, is the actuality that without rules and regulations our country would be in total chaos.  People would be running the streets wreaking havoc on our cities and towns.  Without these guidelines we would have no set amount of our dollar’s worth and no set tax system.  Classes would be severely separated and many would be considered lesser because of this.  We would not have the freedom and equality our forefathers dreamed of. 

Also, if our states were to regulate trade on their own without the consent and watch of our government, there would be many terrible problems.  States would charge more depending on the state, which would eventually cause disputes between these neighboring places.  It would cause a major up rise in our country.  The states would become divided and eventually we would have another Civil War.  This time it would not be over slaves but trade.  Our Constitution would become obsolete. 

I believe that long ago when our Forefathers began writing our Constitution, they thought of how a capitalistic government would be and how a socialistic government would be.   I think that they decided to let the people make many of their own decisions, but the government must keep a close eye on them just in case.  Also, they wanted to have a few regulations just to keep them in line.  In some ways our government is like our parents.  They want to watch over us and protect us until we are able to do so on our own.  So, they set boundaries and rules for us to follow and try to help us to make the right decisions.  They want us to be safe and free yet also keep a good running household, or government, in this case.  I think that our Founding Fathers had the right idea when creating our government and that a socialistic government is much better than a capitalistic.  In the end I believe that our government will last longer than any others because we have the lenience and understanding of a socialistic government.

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."?

Mr. Reed means that if everyone was equal in the economy they would not be free.  Those people would be forced to do jobs they did not like to do and therefore would not be free in our society.  In order for them to be equal they would have to force each citizen to do the exact same as everyone else.

Q2- What is the deadly trade-off to reliance upon government, according to Reed?

We can not completely rely on the government for everything.  If we did it would become too powerful and no longer be a democracy.  We as citizens value our rights, and with those rights we are allowed to think freely of our government and not be completely reliant on it.

The Calf of Democracy
Q3- Why did the Founding Fathers assure that the United States became a republic rather than a pure democracy?

A pure democracy never lasts long; it is unreasonable for citizens to vote on every issue of the government.  Many of which should not even be decisions made by the government.  The founding fathers wanted those of age to have a say in the important issues of our country, but not vote on every miniscule detail of it.

Q4- What is the saving grace of democracy according to Lawrence Reed?

Reed says the saving grace of democracy is that it can be changed without violence, whether the change is good or bad.  The government allows for new and different ideas, which will help it to improve and stay in power.

Freedom Is Not a Doctrine
Q5- Richard Haas gives two unusual reasons for advocating democracy. What are they?
 
Haas says that promoting democracy is a useful component on the campaign against terrorism.  The other reason he gives for advocating democracy is that mature democracies tend not to make war on each other.

Q6- Give two reasons you personally would promote democracy.
 
I promote democracy because if gives citizens the chance to have a say in how their government is run, it doesn’t give all the power to the central government.  Also, it protects our individual rights.   We are free to say what we want about our country without risk of being arrested or abused.

Q7- Comment (any length) on President Bush's current foreign policy.

I think that President Bush, considering the amount of pressure he is under, is doing a good job.  We are trying to help another country improve their government and live a free life.  That is not something many countries would do.

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 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")?

The four officials with fine hats were kings, presidents, professors or scholarly officials, and police officers.

Q9- How did you interpret the megaphone, baby, knife/gun ("No matter how officials are selected")?

The megaphone stood for if they are elected, the baby stood for if they were born into it, and the knife/gun was if they used force to get into that position.

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.

My favorite site was http://www.cfe.org/eng3/main/index.asp?cid=110200&idx=705&pid=2 which had to do with Korea.  I liked this because I think it is great that they are trying to take steps forward to reform and improve their government.
 
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.

Albania: Highest- 2003 (6.1) Lowest- 1990 (4.3)

Benin: Highest- 2001 (5.7) Lowest- 1995 (4.6)

Egypt: Highest- 2000 (6.7) Lowest- 1975 (4.3)

Bahamas: Highest- 1990 and 1975 (6.7) Lowest- 1990 (6.2)

Turkey: Highest- 2003 (5.9) Lowest- 1980 (3.7)
 
Q12- Which of your five countries had the greatest degree of economic freedom according to this exercise?

The country I chose that had the greatest degree of economic freedom was the Bahamas.

Q13- What was the summary rating and rank in the year it achieved this degree of economic freedom?

The website would not allow me to open it so I never found the answer.  I believe though, that it was very favorable in that year.

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