I want to applaud this class for the impassioned response to Friday's reading about "Robber Barons". History should feel personal because, while it happened long ago in some cases, it is our history. We should disagree. In fact, I encourage respectful disagreement. It means we are thinking!
I thought it would be a good idea for everyone to solidify their content knowledge on what exactly the terms capitalism, socialism/communism mean.
For this week's blog, view this video and visit this website for some quality explanations on these different economic systems. You may want to Google other resources as well.
For the comment section, answer all three of the following questions...
1) Summarize, in your own words, the differences between capitalism and socialism/communism.
2) What are the pros/cons of capitalism and socialism/communism?
3) After learning more about these concepts this week, which system makes the most sense to you personally? Why?
1.One of the major differences between capitalism and communism is with regard to the resources or the means of production. In Communism, the community or society solely owns the resources or the means of production. On the other hand, in capitalism, the resources or the means of production lies with a private owner.
ReplyDelete2. Everyone can receive health care. Unlike capitalist countries like America that restrict health care access to those with the most wealth and influence, communist nations allow of their citizens to receive the medical attention that they need, typically free of cost. When ordinary citizens are able to get the health care that they need, this is a huge boon to the development of a nation.
Monopoly power. Private ownership of capital enables firms to gain monopoly power in product and labour markets. Firms with monopoly power can exploit their position to charge higher prices.Economic freedom helps political freedom. If governments own the means of production and set prices, it invariably leads to a powerful state and creates a large bureaucracy which may extend into other areas of life.
3. Communism because it allows you to work according to your ability and skill and allows you to get paid on your talent and the difficulty of the project or difficulty the job. So it's more up to you on what you want to do with your life and how much money you want to make and what kind of life style you want to leave. (250)
1. Capitalism is all about private ownership rather than companies and businesses being owned by the government. It gives individuals more control, and gives the government less power. Capitalism uses supply and demand as well as free competition, which helps the owners of companies keep their businesses as they like them without the government interfering.
ReplyDelete2. Capitalism, as I mentioned before, keeps prices reasonable, and gives people more options since the government doesn't decide things for us. Capitalism keeps the American Dream alive, and is the reason why businesses today keep growing and expanding. Socialism makes everything equal, and is less of a stereotypical form of economics, because people aren't ranked by economic or social status. Communism gives complete control to the government, and enforces laws and rules heavily. However, communism and socialism both are known for not being successful. Countries like North Korea and Russia are infamous for their awful government and economics. As Americans, it is important to keep businesses going, without dictating everything they do.
3. As an American, I've grown in my appreciation for capitalism. Seeing other countries try and fail while using these other forms of economics makes me appreciate the opportunities we have here. Small buisnesses are booming, new buisnesses are created every day, and that is how America is thriving. (217)
1. Socialism gives the government control, and makes things harder for people who own buisnesses, as well as those who work for them. Communism is a strict, harsh economic system that is similar to Socialism, but with complete control. Capitalism differs from Communism and Socialism because Capitalism gives full control while the other two take away control. (57)
ReplyDelete1. Capitalism is based on private ownership of the means of production and individual economic freedom. Private owners make decisions about what and when to produce and how much products should cost. Communism is based on principles meant to correct the problems caused by capitalism. The most important principle of communism is no private ownership of property should be allowed. Socialism also believes that wealth and income should be shared more equally among people. Their main goal is to eliminate the gap between the rich and poor.
ReplyDelete2. One pro of capitalism is economic freedom. If government owns means of production and set prices, it invariably leads to a powerful state and creates large bureaucracy which extends to different ways of life. Another pro is economic growth. This helps to increase the GDP and leads to improved living standers. A con a capitalism is monopoly power firms with monopoly power can exploit their position to charge higher prices.
Pros of communism is when members of society are able to contribute and work, there will be a drop in the unemployment rate in America. Another pro is that communism promises jobs for everybody,where they get equal opportunities. A con of communism is there is no room for ambition. There is little cultural and financial improvements in communism
3. Me personally I agree with captialism beacuse it allows you to have the opertunity and make something of yourself and you can provide for your family (210 words)
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ReplyDeleteCapitalism is a system that is based on the principle of individual rights. It is the system of laissez faire. It's where we depend more on the rule on law and not man. Also economicly it is more free market based. Socialism however is a system where any means of production should be owned and regulated by the Community as a whole. In communism, you get no property to legally own and just like socialism you are taught it is better to share the wealth equally, both socialism and communism were both created to eliminate the rich and poor classes and make everyone apart of the middle class which has never successfully been done.
ReplyDeleteThe pros of capitalism include economic freedom and gives you the opportunity to become rich. The government has little say compared to a socialistic government. The biggest con in capitalism is that if someone gets too successful they can start a monopoly with whatever business they run. Socialism has its pros and cons too. The pros are... Everyone has the right to an education and health care. Also it promotes the balance of wealth. The con to socialism is that it gives the government way too much control.
The system I agree with personally is capitalism. I don't think wealth should be shared equally among jobs because that is a system for disaster. Honestly life gives everyone an opportunity to be financially stable in a capitalistic economy and its what I grew up with here in the U.S and I think it's a big part of why we are the greatest country on the planet.(273 words)
Capitalism is a system that is based on the principle of individual rights. It is the system of laissez faire. It's where we depend more on the rule on law and not man. Also economicly it is more free market based. Socialism however is a system where any means of production should be owned and regulated by the Community as a whole. In communism, you get no property to legally own and just like socialism you are taught it is better to share the wealth equally, both socialism and communism were both created to eliminate the rich and poor classes and make everyone apart of the middle class which has never successfully been done.
ReplyDeleteThe pros of capitalism include economic freedom and gives you the opportunity to become rich. The government has little say compared to a socialistic government. The biggest con in capitalism is that if someone gets too successful they can start a monopoly with whatever business they run. Socialism has its pros and cons too. The pros are... Everyone has the right to an education and health care. Also it promotes the balance of wealth. The con to socialism is that it gives the government way too much control.
The system I agree with personally is capitalism. I don't think wealth should be shared equally among jobs because that is a system for disaster. Honestly life gives everyone an opportunity to be financially stable in a capitalistic economy and its what I grew up with here in the U.S and I think it's a big part of why we are the greatest country on the planet.(273 words)
Capitalism is a system that is based on the principle of individual rights. It is the system of laissez faire. It's where we depend more on the rule on law and not man. Also economicly it is more free market based. Socialism however is a system where any means of production should be owned and regulated by the Community as a whole. In communism, you get no property to legally own and just like socialism you are taught it is better to share the wealth equally, both socialism and communism were both created to eliminate the rich and poor classes and make everyone apart of the middle class which has never successfully been done.
ReplyDeleteThe pros of capitalism include economic freedom and gives you the opportunity to become rich. The government has little say compared to a socialistic government. The biggest con in capitalism is that if someone gets too successful they can start a monopoly with whatever business they run. Socialism has its pros and cons too. The pros are... Everyone has the right to an education and health care. Also it promotes the balance of wealth. The con to socialism is that it gives the government way too much control.
The system I agree with personally is capitalism. I don't think wealth should be shared equally among jobs because that is a system for disaster. Honestly life gives everyone an opportunity to be financially stable in a capitalistic economy and its what I grew up with here in the U.S and I think it's a big part of why we are the greatest country on the planet.(273 words)
Capitalism is basically a sense of economic freedom. In its system, it is all about private ownership. People choose their future on what kind of business they want to run and how they are going to achieve their goals to succeed. They come up with a plan and see if investors will buy in on their share of their idea. If it works, then a corporation is created and that can provide even more spaces for jobs. Communism is no private ownership and is mostly government involvement. They tell the people what type of business they need set up for the good of their people and the people work to get it done. Socialism believes that the wealth and income should be shared among the people. Their main objective is to eliminate the rich v poor gap in society.
ReplyDelete2. One pro of capitalism is competition. Competition causes companies to thrive to make themselves better to beat their competitors, grow their business and become a major job supplier for the people. Another major pro is that it has economic freedom. having the ability to try and have success your way is a major key to a growing economy because it inspires those to live out how they wish to earn and become successful. Pros of Communism is that no one is ever truly poor and the economy keeps a steady poverty line that is relevantly small. A con of capitalism is that there will always be some who aren't successful and are in a poor state or a lower class. A con of Communism is that there isn't much ambition to earn money because you can't earn more than others and you really can't choose the means on how you want to be successful.
3. I would hands down choose capitalism and it's not even close to me. If I were to want to work, I'd want to work my way in a way that would allow me to work hard to earn more, it would allow me to choose my career path and how I accomplish what I am passionate about. (346 words)
1. Capitalism is based on private ownership of the means of production and individual economic freedom. Private owners make decisions about what and when to produce and how much products should cost. Communism is based on principles meant to correct the problems caused by capitalism. The most important principle of communism is no private ownership of property should be allowed. Socialism also believes that wealth and income should be shared more equally among people. Their main goal is to eliminate the gap between the rich and poor.
ReplyDelete2. One pro of capitalism is economic freedom. If government owns means of production and set prices, it invariably leads to a powerful state and creates large bureaucracy which extends to different ways of life. Another pro is economic growth. This helps to increase the GDP and leads to improved living standards. A con a capitalism is monopoly power firms with monopoly power can exploit their position to charge higher prices. Pros of communism is when members of society are able to contribute and work, there will be a drop in the unemployment rate in America. Another pro is that communism promises jobs for everybody,where they get equal opportunities. A con of communism is there is no room for ambition. There is little cultural and financial improvements in communism
3. personally I agree with capitalism because it allows you to have the opportunity and make something of yourself and you can provide for your family (203 words)
Well first off capitalism is the kind of government we have in America so you can just look at the way we run things but capitalism is economic freedom. The government is telling us what we can or can't buy or restricting us from buying things while communism/socialism is wanting no private freedom, they want everything to be owned by the government.
ReplyDeleteSome pros would be you can do what you want when you want to economically and no body can tell you different unless you are breaking the law but some cons would be that some people can't control themselves with their money and the government can't intervene and for communism the government is all up in your business which is a con but a pro could be that the government keeps you in check.
The one that makes the most sense to me would be capitalism. The government shouldn't be allowed to tell you what to do or be like a king and you are a peasant. Everyone should have the same opportunity to wake up everyday go outside and become an entrepreneur. This may not always seem present in America but the people put themselves in that situation no body else. (205)
There are different views on the Economic systems of capitalism, socialism and communism. My own view would be that although capitalsm can be seen as only the rich get the best benefits. We still have one of the biggest middle classes in the world and people are for sure more successful in capitalism than communism.
ReplyDeleteCapitalism is based on economic freedom and individual freedom. Meaning most of the means of production, such as factories and businesses, are owned by private individuals and not by the government. In Capitalism there is supply and demand, which in short determines by how many products there are and how many people want them.
Karl Marx was the father of communism and was angry about the growing gap between rich and poor. Karl saw Capitalism as a system which exploited the workers for other peoples gain. Communism was meant to correct the issues with capitalism. The most important key of communism is that no private ownership of property should be allowed. Marx believed it caused greed and more competetion than necessary. Property was shared and the people control economy.
Socialism, similar to communism, called for putting the vital means of production in the hands of the people, either direct or through the government. Socialism also has a mindset that wealth and income should be shared more among the people.
It should be known that Socialists only differ from communists in that they do not think that the workers will overthrow capitalists suddenly and violently. (249)
-Matthew Mettendorf
Capitalism is a system of government that promotes economic freedom which basically means that people can make their own decisions without higher authorities telling them what to do. This is the system that is connected with the idea of "laissez faire." Laissez fairs is a concept that says government cannot majorly interfere with private businesses' affairs. This is the style of government that America uses. Socialism is a system of government that is based off of the idea that government should be the head of economy. The government provides everyone with equal salary and also takes care of people's everyday necessities.
ReplyDeleteSome pros of capitalism is how people have better chances of making more money and owning a business. Competition is another pro of capitalism because it can significantly effect prices for either better or worse. Cons of capitalism are how the large majority of people who try to build a thriving business fail because most of the time they just get driven out of business by bigger companies. Also, people at the bottom of the economic chain who get paid minimum wage barely have enough money to live. People simply cannot get by on just minimum wage and sometimes, in the worst case scenario, become homeless. Lower class citizens are also heavy looked down upon by those in the middle and upper class. Pros of socialism include equal pay, health care benefits, free education, social equality. I think the last one I said is the most overlooked one of them all. When everyone is paid equally, there is no rich and there is no poor. This is important because today people who live comfortably (middle &upper class) tend to look down on the lower class and criticize them because they think they're just too lazy to work when, in reality, they have no idea what those people go through on a daily basis and the upper class people will probably never understand their everyday struggles. Parents who look down on the poor people also tend to pass it on to their kids and the kids also don't have a clue what they're talking about. It saddens me to see the line that people try to create to separate themselves from other people they deem less of value than themselves. Cons of socialism are higher taxes, possible bureaucracy, and lack of motivation.
I have to lean towards socialism making the most sense. Both have ups and downs but socialism just makes too much sense to deny. People don't seem to realize that just because a country is socialistic doesn't mean it can't be democratic. In fact, in many cases, socialism and democracy go hand in hand. On to the problem of raised taxes; if everyone was paid equally and the government wanted one nationwide middle class, it wouldn't make sense for the government to make the taxes higher than what the citizens could afford. The next reason I prefer socialism is economic equality. If you can't already tell, this issue is very important to me personally. But I've already gone over why it's important so I won't repeat myself. I was reading some of the comments above and I kept reading people say that socialism has NEVER successfully been accomplished. That's not entirely true. It's true that many countries have tried it and failed. But when I look at Canada, who is considered socialistic, they are doing pretty well for themselves and, unlike us, are not piling up trillions of dollars in debt to other people. I just don't see how everyone above can call it a successful government when we have been in debt since about 1789 (except for 1 short time period).
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ReplyDeleteCapitalism and socialism are formal economies. The major differences between capitalism and socialism revolve around the role of the government and equality of economics. Capitalism affords economic freedom, consumer choice, and economic growth. private owners make decisions about what and when to produce things and how to produce those specific things and how much each product should cost. My view is that although capitalism can be seen as only the rich get the best. We still have the biggest middle classes ever and more people are successful in capitalism. Capitalism is based on economic freedom and individual freedom. Mean most business are owned by private individuals A and not by the government. In capatilsm there is supply and demand Some pros would be you can do what you want when you want to economically and no one can different unless the law is being broken. Some cons would be that some people can't control themselves with their money and the government is in your business.
ReplyDeleteCommunism because it allows you to work to your ability and to what you can do and what skills you have. (210)
1- capitalism is really big on people's rights. The working class are paid to produce goods and services which are then sold for a profit,, capitalists live off the money they obtain from exploiting the working class. communism is basically everything owned by the working class and everyone works towards the same goal. Also, there are no dividing classes, everyone is equal. All the needs of an individual can be met by the people in the economy. The idea of communism first came about from Karl Marx, where everyone has common ownership of land and etc.
ReplyDeletesocialism has the same idea as communism where everyone is equal, but instead of everyone owning everything; they're payed and can spend their money however they want. They're provided with the things they need in order to still be able to work without worrying about their basic needs. *cough cough, Clinton*
2- pro- Socialism tries to establish an order that promotes equality not just in everyday life but also in relieving healthcare and education.
Con- FINANCIAL CRISIS ON THE STATE. While certain people abuse the system and expect others to do the work for them and they get welfare and almost anything else other people work for on a day to day basis.
Pros- again, with communism it's easy access to healthcare and education. Also unemployment gets better
Cons- less or no personal freedom. Okay don't get me wrong, equality is great woohoo yay America. But the way communism works a person cant keep any of their earnings or personal property.
Pros- with capitalism there are the three e's, efficiency, economic growth, and economic freedom. Freedom is something we strive for in our country so that might be the biggest pro.
Cons- monopolies
3- capitalism. Granted all have their issues, but I believe that this is our safest bet to keep our countries head above water. America thrives off of small business (thank you mr. Mattheiss and your 300 slide notes) it's how were different, it's how we stand out. Capitalism gives us the freedom we all crave, we all have the same opportunities to make the most out of the lives God blessed us with. (362)
Basically capitalism is the United States. We have the opportunity to be successful and we let everyone choose there own work and then they get paid for the need of the job. It lets you work and who ever is the best at there craft can charge what they want and get paid top dollar for doing there work. And then the people who just half crap and throw there work together last minute get paid minimum. It makes it good for the people who work hard and try to get good at what they do.
ReplyDeleteSocialism is Cuba. They have a government who oppress everyone and basically tells them every little move to make. They basically can be amazing and then get paid five dollars and then the worst in the world is related to someone in the government and then they get paid four hundred dollars. And it doesn't matter how good you aren't just matters who you know. And how good you are at bribing the people above you. It's basically better to do illegal work and get paid top dollar and then bribe the government to let you keep going and doing your business. Then you work with no problems and even if someone snitches you don't get stopped. It is a very bad way to run a country. Now if they could make it where everyone made the same amount of money and everything was equal and no one was above the other it would be a great system. But no greed over takes all and just runs socialistic countries into the ground. (268)
1. Capitalism is based on private ownership and individual economic freedom. This means that most of the means of production, like factories and businesses, are owned by private individuals, not the government. Capitalism should not have any government interference. Communism involves no private ownership of property. All property should be shared and the goal is to remove the gap between the rich and the poor. Socialism is like communism. It believes that income should be shared more equally among people. Socialism also shares the same goal as communism.
ReplyDelete2. One of the pros of capitalism include lower prices of items because consumers want to spend the least amount of money. When supplies increase, prices drop. One of the cons of capitalism is that there is not government interference. In most situations, having no government involved is fine, but in the situations where it actually is needed, you can't have it. One of the pros of socialism/communism is that property gets to be shared. Some of the less fortunate people get to have nice things. One of the cons of socialism/communism is that the rich have to share with the poor.
3. Capitalism makes the most sense to me because it allows you to work and benefit from your work without the government stepping in. This means that they can't give away most of what you earn.
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Allie Halloran
1) Capitalism is an economic structure based on free competition, and private ownership of property and business. The amount of income is proportional to the entrepreneurship of an individual or business. There is usually a definite gap between the rich and the poor. Whereas, in communism/socialism, the idea is that property is owned by all, and everyone is equal. Wages are standardized, and the government controls the economy. There is a slight difference between communism and socialism, mostly in that socialism not all private property is eliminated.
ReplyDelete2) The pros of Capitalism are; individual ownership, lower prices though competition, and the ability to become wealthy though hard work. But capitalism has its cons too, some people will end up poor with little to nothing, wealthy people are powerful and can buy out competitions, establishing monopolies. That causes the wealthy to become wealthier and the poor to become poorer. The benifits to Communism/Socialism is that everyone has equal treatment and wages so there is no large class divide. Property is shared, and the Goverment can lend aid to those in need. The drawback is that no matter how hard you work, you will never make more then the lazy guy next door. The Goverment also controls your wages, giving it unlimited power to do whatever it wishes.
3) I believe that neither one will work perfectly, a mix of them, with one covering the weakness of the other. Mainly, Capitalism is the important one, giving people the motivation and opportunity to work and make money leads to great economic growth and improves quality of life for all. However, you need an element of communism/socialism too. The Goverment needs to have the power to step in and do things like break up monopolies, enforce regulations, and hold the companies accountable for any immoral or corrupt actions.
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