Comparison and Contrasts of Pros of Socialism and Capitalism Research

Socialism gets construed as the economic and social doctrine that advocates for the public rather than the private control or ownership of natural resources and property. According to the perspective of the socialist, individuals do not work or live in a situation of isolation. People live a life where they cooperate. Even the products which are produced by the people are seen as social products and everyone involved in the process of production is given an equal share of the product. Socialism, therefore, calls on the society as a whole to own a property or properties with the aim of accruing benefits which will be instrumental in transforming the lives of all the people within the community (Schumpeter, 4). It is this conviction which puts socialism in opposition with capitalism. Capitalism on its part is concerned with the private ownership of factors of production or the natural resources. Some of the notable factors of production include the capital goods, resources which are generated naturally, labor, and entrepreneurship to mention but a few (Levi-Faur, 289). Every person owns their labor except in matters slavery which has also been passed with time. It is equally notable that capitalism needs a free market economy for its success to be realized.

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In most cases, the distribution of goods or services is done according to the law of demand and supply. The law of demand spells that, for the demand of a product to go up, its price must also go up considerably. This usually compels the competitors to increase the rate of production especially on occasions where they believe that there exists a potential increase in pricing. Following the brief discussion on socialism and capitalism, the paper is premised on the comparison and contrast of the pros and cons of the duo (socialism and capitalism) where different arguments will get inclined on history, economy, health care, and government to mention but a few.

The first comparison touches on matters of economy. They both represent the role of government in every economy and the level of economic equality among the citizens of a country. It is because of the role that they both represent the opposing school of thoughts of different economic convictions (Baer, 1). The capitalists as noted in the previous discussion hold the conviction of the government being better off when the free market is in charge of determining the person who loses and the one who wins. On the same note, the socialists are concerned with the government holding responsibility for ensuring the existence of economic equality through the introduction of programs which are likely to benefit the poor. Such programs include the imposition of high taxes for the wealthy, providing free education to the poor and providing a subsidy to the healthcare system.

In most cases, the capitalist economic system also gives many powers to the private entities when it comes to issues of managing resources. The comparison imaged earlier is an advantage of the pros because the workers are not exploited because they own the means of production. They are aware that the profit they are going to receive will be spread equally among all the workers depending on their level of contribution.

Even though the view contrast greatly with capitalism, it is notable that it allows the existence of a cooperative system where even those who are unable to work are assured of their necessities being met for the good of the society. The other pros of socialism are drawn from the fact that it allows for the balancing of both wealth and earnings especially with the situation of when the government is in control and in charge of other industries like utility, companies, and housing to mention but a few. The illustration can also be given based on the taxes which are calculated progressively. Progressive to mean that the higher the income, the higher the amount of tax calculated. With the existence of the taxation system, it becomes easier for the individuals getting low income to budget well for their lives and also plan on how to earn more and pay higher taxes. The other notable pros are on the possible eradication of the monopolies in the corporations. This is because the government constantly monitors and controls the operations of companies which offer different services to the citizens. On the part of capitalism, the pros include promotion of competition. The pros exist because the consumers are given the opportunity to access products at the best prices. Most consumers are often willing to pay products with higher quality, a situation which compels most production companies to maximize the profits accrued from the products. The system also allows for both economic expansion and growth considering the manner in which the gross national product increases with the objective of improving the living standards of the majority of citizens. On the same light, it also allows for efficiency in economies because goods and services are produced or generated following the existence of demand that leads to the creation of incentives that aim at cutting cost and avoiding waste.

In consideration of the discussion given above. Another notable comparison other than the one which had been highlighted on the part of the economy is based on the duo getting premised in improving the life of the people. On the part of socialism, the improvement can be noted by people working towards a common goal or aim while on the part capitalism, the improvement is likely to occur because every person is encouraged to work hard to achieve their success. On the part of contrast, they differ because of the players and the objectives which are involved as the pros exist. For example, socialism involves the participation of every citizen in a country while capitalism is more of individualistic. Countries like Finland and Denmark mostly use the former while the United States of America applies the latter.

When the history of the two ideologies (socialism and capitalism) is looked at, little is left for comparison, but much is based on their contrast. Perhaps they had different objectives thus the inexistence of possible similarity. On the part of the contrast, socialism came as a result of the Communist Manifesto which was penned by Karl Marx together with Friedrich Engels at around 1848 before the onset of the revolutions which swept Europe. In their writings, they expressed that which was termed as the scientific socialism which was basically formed by the socialist governments and defined by the existence of the mixed economy coupled with partial nationalizations and other matters pertaining social welfare. Capitalism on the other dimension came at a period between the 16th and the 17th century. Some also opine its existence to the traces of certain banking families traced from some European nations as early as the 14th century. Even though the contrast in history exists, the two nations have brought many pros to their countries with the United States taking the mantle of the World's Most Superpower regarding wealth, natural resources, and military armament to mention but a few. The countries which have also had their system exclusively inclined on socialism have also had many successes with Netherlands, Finland, and Denmark crediting most of their developments and achievements to it. On the part of healthcare, the two systems have been argued to differ significantly with capitalism leading to inequality in healthcare distribution as will be noted in the subsequent section that deals with the cons of both the systems. The inequality emerges because not everyone can afford the same medical standard hence the significant variation. On the side of socialism, it has been argued that universal healthcare may be its practical manifestation because it provided for universal health coverage and equal treatment to every person.

Comparison of Cons of Socialism and Capitalism

Socialism and capitalism equally realized massive inequality in the mass population in different ways. Socialism encourages equal distribution of wealth amongst citizens in a country despite the untenable nature of such an aspiration. Economists contend that the true implementation of socialism remains a mirage due to the burden that it realizes on the larger majority of the population in a country. Since socialism encourages contributing massively towards government while rendering citizens poor, people shun it. The inequalities realized with socialism involve instances where the elite take advantage of the pool funds and resources to enrich their fortunes while leaving the majority poor.

Similarly, capitalism does not acknowledge the marginalized category of the population which in most instances includes persons with disability, an aging population, and the youth in some countries. The capital owners dominate the rest of the citizens by setting prices of commodities which in some instances creates an unbalanced economic fortune in a nation. The imbalance income amongst citizens realizes economic inequality in a country.

Both capitalism and socialism realize violence in countries where they are practiced without critical consideration of their negative effects. Psychologically, people tend to showcase their frustrations through different means which in some circumstances may involve violent ways. Many countries across the world continue to record various aspects of rebellion and revolution due to unfavorable economic policies. Most socialistic societies tend to espouse despotic and tyrannical tendencies that do not appeal to the electorate hence violence. Most countries in Asia including China witnessed serious aspects of intercultural conflicts surrounding the negativities of socialist ideology. Citizens in such countries register their disaffection with such political and economic doctrines through violence and acts of rebellion. Consequently, capitalistic policies encourage wealth acquisition with the elite few members of the society at the expense of the larger majority which sometimes infuriates the general public. France that supports capitalistic ideology experienced worst violence in the recent past due to uncontrolled practices of capitalism.

The curtailment of various rights and freedoms comes with the practices of both socialism and capitalism. Ideally, the world remains heterogenic with various kinds of people that hold different aspirations regarding certain political and social issues. Some people practice different religious practices that both socialism and capitalism do not approve. Most countries practice Christianity despite the presence of other religious practices such as Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism among others. However, capitalism and socialism ideals practiced in certain countries fail to acknowledge the existence of such divergent religious groups (Niedzwiecki and Santiago, n.p). The rampant rise in terrorism in many parts of the world can partly be blamed on the insensitive practice of socialism and capitalism. The competing interests by the socialists and capitalists perpetuate unfortunate tendencies of terrorism. Americans observe capitalism keenly while most countries in the Middle East look forward to the practice of socialism and would want their ideology reign supreme in every part of the world. The differences yielded by such competing ideologies curtail significantly the rights and freedoms of many citizens across the world in so far as worship is concerned.

The cons of socialism and capitalism can also be contrasted indifferently which include the following ways. While capitalism realizes massive competition and selfishness, socialism hinders innovation and hard work in a society. Capitalistic societies are full of individuals that always work harder to outdo their counterparts in wealth acq...