The Good, And The Bad And Ugly

During the 1950’s, Cuba was on the brink of revolution. The nation, which had suffered numerous corrupt and oppressive governmental regimes, fell victim to yet another when Fulgencio Batista seized power under a military coup in March of 1952. A cry for a just Cuba, that was economically, politically, and socially free continued to echo throughout the island. In 1959, a group of radical revolutionaries, under the leadership of Fidel Castro, overthrew the Batista dictatorship and put in place the political and social structures that exist in Cuba to this day.

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.

Communism is based on the belief that man is inherently good, and when given the option he will work for the betterment of his neighbour. This layout is helped along when all men are economically equal, and the only way to ensure that is to rid society of private property and monetary exchange, thus, the government controls all of the

After World War two, the west and the Soviets brought up tensions between each other. Countries such as Great Britain, the United States, Canada, France and others practiced a capitalist economy. Capitalism is a free market ideal in which the government has as little intervention to its people as possible. On the other hand, the Soviets practiced a Communist government. Communism is a form of socialism that has its government get involved in everyone’s daily life. This meant that the government determined how much and what kinds of goods would be produced.

In a communist society, the people would have no real source of income. The government would control how much they would make. This is so that no one can overthrow the government, with the money they make. The government also controls how much you spend, so you can’t really save up money to get more than the government.

     Throughout history, there have been many systems developed in order to have a better society. Two of the most analyzed, and debated systems that have tired to change an economy for the best are communism, and capitalism. Communism, and capitalism have been compared on many levels, such as why they will or will not work, and which one works better. Throughout this essay I will concentrate on the differences, and similarities of how each operates, along with the benefits, and problems that each of them produces.

There have been many conflicts and wars fought over communism and capitalism. One of the longest and intense conflicts was the Cold War. “The Cold War was a nearly 50-year long period of tense relations between the United States and the Communist-ruled Soviet Union. The Cold War began almost immediately after World War II and ended with the 1991 dismantling of the Berlin Wall and the dissolution of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics” (Turner, 2001-2014 p.1). The Soviets fought to expand communism and destroy capitalism, but in the end capitalism was one of the reasons the Soviet Union dissolved.

Capitalism and Communism are both economic systems, adopted by different regions, which has played a major role in how society has been shaped in the 20th century. Capitalism, is simply an economic system where things like property and/or businesses are owned and controlled by individuals instead of the government. The United States was one of the first majorly developed regions to adopt this philosophy and it has had a huge impact on the global economy by allowing free market competition and by promoting the culture of work. Communism, is an economic system in which things like businesses and property are own and controlled by the government. Communism was adopted by the Soviet Union and played a critical role in global politics and social classes.

Anyone who accepts communism is accepting total submission to the government and is okay with not having individual freedom. The goal of communism is for the government to own and rule over everything and everyone in the nation. In Communist countries the government owns the houses, land, businesses, factories and farms in that society. Not only do they have control over these physical things they also have control over the freedom of speech and expression. This has been shown in communist countries today like China; “Chinese authorities, recognizing in recent years that limited freedom of

Firstly, a brief explanation of some of the terms I will be using. Capitalism is an economic system where businesses and the means of production are owned by private individuals for profit. In a socialist economy, the means of production are owned by the community as a whole and individuals get rewarded for their work based on the following principle: from each according to his ability, to each according to his contribution. In communism, items are divided up based on, from each according to his ability, to each according to his need. Finally, I will use the terms proletariat and bourgeoisie.

Capitalism means that, well any and every businesses and market forces with supply and demand determine what goods are available in their markets and what the prices they want those goods to be are. Everything, land, shops, housing, industries, and land are for the most part, owned by private individuals or companies instead of the collective whole. And in The United States political system, a democracy, every single citizen chose their leaders by voting them into office by elections that are free and fair. Governmental oversight however of every day life is very minimal, allowing its individuals to make each and every one of their decisions on their own free will. As to what career they want to pursue, where they want to live, what they want to eat, etc. Although each system had benefits and disadvantages, during The Cold War both the Soviet Union and The United States were viewing the other 's system as incorrect and a threat to their own system. Both countries worried that the other may indeed one day attempt to spread its ideology throughout the world. The United States was unwilling to live in a world, as where communism dominated and out ruled, and The Soviet Union felt very similar about living in a situation to where they would be under capitalism. Communist tent to believe that capitalism is indeed a selfish ideology

In a perfect example of communism man helps each other not hurt each other. However capitalism is just the opposite man can own private factories, stores and businesses. While taking down other people in their way. Not everyone benefits from a capitalist economy, especially the lower class who can't afford their own private businesses.

Capitalists wanted a democratic society to go with their economic plan, led by a leader or group of leaders that were chosen through an election, and Communists wanted a totalitarian society to go with their economic plan, ruled by a single leader that took control over everyone and leads every aspect of their lives, instead of the old-fashioned concept of kings. Whether a president, prime minister, Congress, or a dictator, the leaders from these economic plan/societies dictate public policy. Communism is simply just more strict.

In seeking to highlight the key differences between socialism and capitalism, it would be prudent to first offer a concise definition of the two terms. Capitalism in the words of Brinkerhoff, White, Ortega, and Weitz (2007) "is the economic system in which most wealth (land, capital, and labor) is private property, to be used by its owners to maximize their own gain." As the authors in this case further point out, this particular economic system is largely founded on competition. Socialism on the other hand is defined as "an economic structure in which productive tools are owned and managed by the workers and used for the collective good" (Brinkerhoff et al., 2007). From the definitions, it is clear that unlike capitalism, socialism favors a situation whereby there is deliberate control as well as planning of economic activities on behalf of the entire community. In the case of capitalism, no attempt is made to have economic activities controlled from a central point on behalf of the community. Here, enterprises are allowed to compete in the supply of goods and services as they seek to rake in monetary returns. The key

The world can be perceived in two economic systems and they’re communism and capitalism. Communism is a country owned by their government and everyone is living in an equal society. Capitalism is the economic system that people inhabit in the twenty –first- century, when an individual is able to own property and have absolute freedom. Capitalism is better for American compared to communism because of Classes, freedom of speech, and individualism.