A few thoughts have crossed my mind recently and I thought it would be good to get them down on paper (so to speak).
As a history teacher I teach the youth about the emergence of the economic systems of capitalism and socialism. I have become fascinated over the past few years with these subjects and have done extensive research on both. Especially now that these topics are on the tips of political tongues in this country, I feel it is more important than ever to understand these issues.
Capitalism Pros: Capitalism promotes competition which promotes ingenuity which promotes progress. One upping the other guy is how society went from a bunch of hunter-gatherers to the sophisticated civilization that we live in today. Capitalism is simply an extension of that belief. It is the common man taking it upon himself to further his idea. It promotes hard(er) work and personal accountability. Power lies with the people which means a democracy is the preferred form of government, which I also agree is the best (that we have so far).
Capitalism Cons: Capitalism leads to unbelievable wealth for some. In today's society it generally gives that wealth to those who produce the wants of society rather than the needs. Does Mark Zuckerburg really deserve billions of dollars for creating Facebook? Does Kobe Bryant need to make $20 million a year for playing basketball? Capitalism rewards those who give the public what they want. I don't want to go on some kick that teachers need to make more, but certainly there are those who give their whole lives for mediocre pay. Capitalism allows us to choose what we put value on, and often I feel we put value on a lot of the wrong things.
Socialism Pros: The wealth that capitalism brings to the wealthy can often be unfair. Socialism helps create a more equal playing field. Socialism is meant to help those who work hard, but because they chose a profession that capitalism does not reward as heavily, they struggle. A social worker goes to college from 4-6 years while a professional basketball player is 1 and Done. The former makes $35,000 a year while the latter starts at several $100 thousand to several million a year. Do we need social workers? Do we need people to guide those who need help? HEdoublehockeystick yeah we do. But because capitalism doesn't reward these people, socialism picks up the slack for the capitalist system.
Socialism Cons: Socialism creates collective laziness (at least too much socialism does). Those who get without working have no motivation to work harder. Those who work hard, or harder, and see little return for their hard work have no motivation to work any harder. The Catch 22 of socialism is that it works best in a society of hard workers to support the few, but it works the least in a society of lazy workers to support the many. As America gets lazier we are turning more and more to socialism, which creates even more collective laziness. It is a vicious cycle that is difficult to ween off of.
Agree, disagree, it is up to you to decide. Find out which representative (more than just the president, local representatives as well) aligns with what you believe and vote!!!
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