Communism Vs Capitalism

In my lifetime I have often heard the phrase, sharing is caring! Well, one man, by the name of Karl Marx, took the concept too far and created the governmental system known today as Communism. Communism has many disadvantages like creating monotonous lifestyles, taking motivation away from the people, and has the government involved with everything. Because of all those reasons, Communism is not a viable political/economic system when compared to capitalism because it creates super inefficient economies.

To understand how Communism creates inefficient economies, it is crucial to know its origins as well as how it functions. Modern Communism comes from the writings of two German economists, Karl Marx, and Fredrich Engels. The two of them partnered up and wrote the book, The Communist Manifesto which explains, What is Communism? According to Marx and Engels, most problems in society are a result of the unequal distribution of wealth. They believe that in order to create a prosperous and happy society the distinctions between the rich and the poor must be eliminated. Considering that the rich will never voluntarily give up their power/money, the working class, proletariat, must overthrow the capitalist owners, the bourgeoisie. Communism is willing to use violence in order to attain its goals of a classless society. However in order to transition from capitalism, it would take time, and that phase in between is known as socialism. Socialism is where you try to even the distribution of wealth with the endpoint being communism. The means of production which are raw materials, factories, and machines are all socially owned.

Communism is the easiest economic system to sell to poor people. The poor can enjoy free meals given to them by the regime, but in exchange, the poor have to slave away for the state, 12 hours a day. Those who were more capable worked in blue collar jobs, but there are no salaries. With no incentives like bonuses, promotions, or overtime pay, nobody is motivated to do their work and efficiency drops. Because of this, there is no reason two work more than what the state tells you to do, life becomes boring and routine. One can not break out of this routine as there is no opportunity to rise in a Communist society. The government controls the daily aspects of your life which makes it hard to have any personal freedom. All Communism does is provide for man's basic needs and doesn't offer a chance to go beyond that to man's wants, which is what Capitalism is all about.

All of this leads to the peoples yearning of Capitalism. Multiple countries have overthrown their Capitalist leaders in an effort to better their country. One such example of this would be in Romania and what took place with Nicolae Ceau?™escu, the former leader. The citizens of Romania were sick of communism and his rule so they publically dragged him out and executed him on December 25th, 1989. Today, there are only five Communist countries which are the People's Republic of China, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Lao People's Democratic Republic, and the Republic of Cuba. The fact that there are only five Communist countries can also be used as proof that Communism is not viable.

Now that we know about Communism it is important that we understand what Capitalism is and how it works. Capitalism is defined as, an economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state.Capitalism has its origins in the 16th century when merchants began interregional trade (mercantilism), and the demand for their products grew so high that it began shaping the market and pricing. Another contributing factor to the rise of capitalism would be Europe's supply of precious metals increasing. In the 18th Century, England had developed into a fully industrialized nation which is when Capitalism took full effect. Capitalism is one of the predominant economic systems in the world today.

Capitalism is controlled by the free market rather than by the government. Capitalism, in essence, states that Greed is good. In Capitalism owners control the means of production, and it is valued on profit, while in Communism they are valued by their benefit to the people. In Capitalism, people derive their income from their ownership rather than the government. Because you get your income from ownership, you are motivated to work harder and to make more money. Because you work harder there are new innovations and product developments in the market. Capitalism is based on the concept of supply and demand which states that when demand increases the price also increases. Because of this companies make more of the product that is in demand, and since multiple companies are making the product the competition keeps the price affordable and the production efficient. This leads to greater economic growth. The government should only intervene to keep the power in the market balanced, like preventing things like monopolies or oligarchies.

Opposition to Capitalism states that by nature it is exploitative, and leads to a heavily divided society. It is the complete opposite of Communism which seeks to become a classless society where everyone is equal. Some disadvantages of Capitalism would be that it doesn't provide for those who can't compete, like the elderly, disabled people, and children. Another disadvantage of capitalism is that it ignores environmental issues like pollution and climate change because it makes goods cheaper and more affordable in the short run. But by doing this, the environment has begun to deteriorate.

When comparing Communism and Capitalism, it is evident that Capitalism leads to more efficient economies and more innovation in the marketplace. Communism is bound to fail with no motivation to work harder, and no way to climb the ranks and satisfy your own greed. When looking at all this it's hard to think that Communism is better.

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