Newell-Fonda High School
Newell, Iowa
Teacher: Connie Doonan
Socialism or Capitalism
By Robin Jackson
12th grade
What kind of government does the United States have, a socialist one or a capitalist one? First, what is socialism and capitalism? Socialism is a philosophy, politically and economically, in which all property is commonly owned, rather than privately. Capitalism is an economic system, in which private individuals rather than the public, at large, owns all production and property. The United States has been known for its free-market economy and after all a free-market economy is when private individuals own their own property and production. So then the United States has to be a capitalist economy.
The United States can't be a socialistic economy because a class of intellectuals would rule. Those intellectuals are the ones that decide what the people want or in some cases what is best for the society. They use their power of State to regulate, tax, and redistribute to those who make a living by working. Those intellectuals decide what is to be produced and how much and at what price that product will sell…without taxes. But then they also get to decide what the taxes on those products will be. They get to raise and lower the taxes on whatever they deem it should be. There is not just one percent of tax on all things; it’s different for every single product. Then those same intellectuals get to redistribute what they want to and how much they want. They can keep some of the products for themselves, and no one would question it but the people that are doing the work can't. Those people have to do anything that they want to keep on the side, but they have to finish the work for government first.
The United States is a capitalistic economy because the people have to deal with other human beings as traders, which is what all Americans do. The people work as free agents to trade and sell goods and services on a basis of mutual consent of others. The people that make the product or the people that do the service get to choose what they wish to get in payment. [Granted,]there are some regulations like [the wage and labor laws.] …
Socialism [breeds]…envy. …Envy is…the desire to not only posses someone else’s wealth but also to see another’s wealth lowered to the level of one’s own. … wealth. … [It also calls for] self-sacrifice. … Individuals [are required to subvert their…private interests for [communal interests] even if [they] don’t really want to.
[I believe] capitalism is moral and just…because [people can] decide [their] own position in life. That means that…status depends on how [people’s] minds work and whether they have the ambition to use [their minds]. Capitalism is the only system to reward people’s achievements and abilities no matter what rank or where they were born…. It’s a social system that [attempts to] punishes the corrupt and reward [the] innocent. This applies to all businesses whether it be a lawyer, a doctor, a carpenter, or an exterminator. It doesn’t matter where people start; it only matters on how [and where they end up].
The United States is a capitalistic economy. The people in the United States [generally] get to choose what they want to do and when they want to do it.…The life that the people choose is of their own free will. They choose whether they become industrious and efficient or if they become lazy and imprudent. It is their choice, and no one else’s.…The people are free, and isn't that what a capitalistic government is all about, the freedom to choose…?
Answers To Questions Prompted By The Required Reading
1. What does Mr. Reed mean when he says “Equal people are not free.”? Mr. Reed means that the only way to make people equal is by an outside force. If that is the case then the people may be equal but they aren’t free anymore.
2. What is the deadly trade-off to reliance upon government, according to Reed? He is saying that if people give the government too much power by relying on them too much then we are just paying for the things that the government officials are bringing home. Because people are relying so much on the government, it will do anything to keep it.
3. Why did the Founding Fathers assure that the United States became a republic rather than a pure democracy? They decided on a republic because it provides a mechanism by which almost anyone can have some kind of say in matters of government. Plus if they decided on a pure democracy people would have to vote on everything and that would mean that the uneducated people would have their say in all the matters even if they had no idea what they were voting on.
4. What is the saving grace of democracy according to Lawrence Reed? According to Lawrence Reed saving graces of democracy is nothing more than that the system allows for political change without violence. Whether the change a majority favors is right or wrong, good or evil.
5. Richard Haas gives two unusual reasons for advocating democracy. What are they? Richard Haas says that democracies tend not to make war on one another and the second thing is that democracy is a campaign against terrorism.
6. Give two reasons you personally would promote democracy. One reason is because everyone has a say in one form or another. The second reason is because not one person has all the power like in a dictatorship but it is spilt between people, and those people set down laws to help there nation run more smoothly.
7. Comment (any length) on President Bush’s current foreign policy. I don’t mind Bush’s foreign policy but he needs to make the decisions at the right time. I don’t think that there is any reason to keep sending more of our troops over if what he says is true, that everything is fine. I think that it is starting to become a waste of time and money because if the people over there want to change then they will but if not they won’t and it doesn’t matter if we are over there or not. Plus it is costing the U.S. soldiers lives and that isn’t right because then we know that they don’t want our help and it’s pointless on trying.
8. How did you interpret each of the four different hats (“officials with fine hats”)? The crown means an official that is like a king or someone born into power. The top hat means an official that is like a congressman or a leader of the military. The graduate cap means an official is like a teacher or someone who has gained respect by graduating. The last hat means an official that is like an average citizen that someone looks up to.
9. How did you interpret the megaphone, baby, knife/gun (“No matter how officials are selected”)? The megaphone means that the official became an official by being a good talker like one of our congressmen. The baby means that the official was born into being what he is like a lord. The knife and gun means that he earned to be an official by protecting what he loves like a military leader or he could have earned it by force.
10. Browse the “Favorite Links of the Economic Freedom Network and share on of your favorite discoveries with us. Make sure you copy the URL. Tell us why you chose it. Hong Kong is the top freest economy in the world since 1970. It has beat United States, United Kingdom, and Singapore. I chose this topic because it is interesting and it involves more than just one country. Plus it doesn’t just say that Hong Kong it the best in economy, it also says that Hong Kong is having a lot of troubles but yet they are staying at the top of the rating list. http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=2758
11. 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.
Barbados- 2000 Greece – 1985
- 2003 -2000, 2002, 2003
Zimbabwe – 2002, 2003 United Kingdom -1970, 1975
- 1995 - 2000, 2001
Ecuador – 1970
- 1995
12. Which of your five countries had the greatest degree of economic freedom according to this exercise?
The United Kingdom
13. What was the summary rating and rank in the year it achieved this degree of economic freedom.
In 2000 it had a rating of 8.2 with a rank of 6 and in 2001 it had a rating of 8.2 with a rank of 4.