Communism Vs. Capitalism : Rough Draft

Two of the world’s most popular and diverse economic systems are Communism and Capitalism. Capitalism, or a free enterprise economy, is an economic system constructed by the freedoms of the marketplace. The capitalist economy has several promising advantages. The capitalist government subtly changes and adjusts to the current conditions with ease. A communist system can be defined as an economic system where many, if not all, factors of production are controlled and owned by the government.

eyes of the government. For example if you are a poor nobody from the lower

“Mankind must put an end to war or war will put an end to mankind.” John F. Kennedy, September 25, 1961

     There are many different outcomes and problems that can occur as a result of the different systems. The benefits for communism are set up on a larger scale that takes time and effort, as for capitalism hard work produces quick gains. Since it is harder for people of communism to see direct results from their hard work, there can be a tendency of people doing less, but still receiving the same as everyone else. Thus, there needs to be some type of point system, which makes sure each person does enough work to show for the goods received. If the work is not done then something needs to be done, such as not giving them their share, jail time, or kicked out of the community, resulting in poorer living standards. Capitalism however, gives each individual a choice of the benefits they will receive from working hard or not. You still have the chance to be poor, but unlike communism you have the chance to become rich. In communism the hardest workers receive the same, but in capitalism the hardest workers reap the most rewards.

Communism in theory is a great government system to create equality for everyone. Yet, as history shows, communism does not always play out so well. By examining Stalin’s rule of the Soviet Union many flaws of communism are apparent. Communism creates a system of very robotic citizens free of individually and passion for the work they do. In addition it requires an extremely powerful government that controls nearly every aspect of the citizen’s life. Former communist states have many weaknesses associated with their form of government. Dehumanizing mankind and taking away ones freedom ultimately leads to revolt and the fall of the communist state.

The views between Communism and Capitalism may sound very extreme when placed in an argument for an ideal society, but the core attribute for both comes down to quality of life. We can assume this is an argument between which is better for society, the Kitchen Debates

Communism is described as “ a theory or system of social organization based on the holding of all property in common, actual ownership being ascribed to the community as a whole or to the state. “ In some countries this system worked, but what the Soviet Union failed to do was to instill the ideology of Communism into the heart and minds of its population, an anonymous Soviet citizen said, “They pretend to pay us and we pretend to work,” Showing the lack of motivation amongst the citizens, and lack of enthusiasm in the system. Not only was there no productivity, but also in the middle of the 1980’s approximately seventy percent of industrial output of the Soviet Union was going to the military, causing severe shortages of the industrial goods for the rest of the economy, and failing to meet the needs of the State resulting in acute poverty. In the end the Soviet people became more cynical about their government and only felt distrust towards them, this and the fact that the Soviet Union failed to produce a stable economy led to economic decline, eventually demanding the necessity to

First off, Communist governments were created because of the shunning of Capitalism. Karl Marx a 19th Century philosopher saw Capitalists becoming the richest people, sitting back gaining most of the revenue while some people would have absolutely nothing. Workers were being taken advantage of, giving them poor amounts of pay, and terrible working conditions. Distinguishing this scenario, Marx decided to write the book The Communist Manifesto with another philosopher, Friedrich Eingels, to describe the goals and operations of a Communist government. He describes a Communist government as one where every person is treated the same in every way, works the same amount, so they all can achieve the same goal of a Utopian society. Expressing this,

A communist government is a system in which a state plans and controls the economy. A single party holds the power. The state controls include the elimination of private property and capital, claiming to make a social order in which all goods are equally shared among the people. A communist state is a one party system, there can usually be multiple parties but most of the time there is one dominant party. The economy in a communist state is dominated by state owned and state run enterprises.

Communism vs Socialism I chose the topic of comparing and contrasting Communism and Socialism. Communism is a political theory in which all property is publicly owned and each person works and is paid according to their abilities and needs. Socialism is a political and economic theory of social organization that advocates that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community as a whole. Throughout this paper I am going to explain what socialism and communism is, to help not only myself but readers better understand the topic. I will also be explaining the faults and benefits of each as well.

The 20th century was a tumultuous time all around the world. The 1900s saw two world wars and several revolutions. Among these revolutions, Russia and China stand out among them all. These two countries were the first two to fall to communist revolutions. Communists focused on eliminating class systems and creating a society where property is publicly owned and everyone is paid according to their abilities. Communists believed that this type of society would be better for all people. This ideal society was radically different from the one that existed in Russia and China. However, communists were able to conduct a successful revolution in both Russia and China. The resulting communist countries did not have identical results. By analyzing the patterns of average income per person, income inequality, and average life expectancy, one can draw the conclusion that revolution in Russia led to considerable gains between 1900 and 1980, while China saw few improvements. Compared to non-communist countries like Turkey and India, revolution only seemed worth the cost in Russia.

Capitalism and Communism are on complete opposite ends of the political and economic spectrums. Complex historical foundations have left the footprint of this political “yin and yang” on virtually every nation across the globe. Countries, such as the United States of America, Canada, and Australia find economic and political roots in capitalism, where countries such as Russia, North Korea, and China maintain at least recognizable features of classic communism. Though both serve as delivery mechanisms for social, political, and economic norms and standards, the framework and philosophy through which each strives to meet this end could not be more different.

Throughout the world there are many different types of governments. The main ones that are well known are Capitalism, Socialism, and Communism. The United States has a government of Capitalism. “A way of organizing an economy so that the things that are used to make and transport products (such as land, oil, factories, ships, etc.) are owned by individual people and companies rather than by the government” (Merriam-Webster). Capitalism is a system that recognizes individual rights, and also property rights (Merriam-Webster). Socialism is another type of government, and its difference from Capitalism is that the government controls and owns the businesses. “A way of organizing a society in which major industries are owned and controlled by the

Everybody gets the same pay, and there is no chance of corporations decreasing the quality of something for profit. The characteristics of capitalism reflect a system where the people at the bottom stay there most of the time when the top 10% owns more than half of the nations wealth. Communism sees the dangers of greed and inequality, and outlaws corporations.

Capitalism and communism are polar opposites when it comes to how much the government is involved in a country’s economy. On the one side capitalism has very little to do with it and lets the people run it mostly by themselves. Communism is when the government owns everything and people work for them and are payed equally by the government. Capitalism and communism are the extremes and both have their up and downs. Capitalism allows us to make as much as we want and communism is supposed to make sure that everyone is payed and there is no poverty. This does not always happen for either one but there are things that government should do when it comes to the economy. In Naked Economics it says “One crucial role for government in a market economy is dealing with externalities—those cases in which individuals or firms engage in private behavior that has boarder social consequences” (56).