Essay Example on Differences Between Socialism & Communism: An Evaluation

It would be important to note that both communism and socialism are some of the significant economic philosophies used by different countries as their economic pillars to advocate for public and not private ownership of factors of production and most specifically means of production, exchange of goods as well as distribution in the society (Egbert, 2015). The paper aims to evaluate these two economic philosophies y looking at the difference between the two as well as see how socialism has been applied in the provision of various services in America.

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However, it is essential to note that despite the differences, both economic systems aim to fix the problems that are created by free-market capitalism, which includes exploitation of workers as well as widening gap that exist between the poor and the rich (Cam & Kayaoglu, 2015). Notably, socialism emerged as a result of extreme social and economic changes that were caused by the industrial revolution, where many workers were viewed to be struggling as industry owners became richer. Also, communism originated due to the industrial revolution, and it was initially defined by Karl Marx's theories (Cam & Kayaoglu, 2015).

The critical difference between these two systems is that under socialism, individuals can own property even though industrial production or the essential means of generating wealth is communally owned and managed by a government that is democratically elected to represent the people. However, in communism, there is no private ownership, and all the properties are communally owned (Cam & Kayaoglu, 2015). Here, every individual receives a portion of what they need. Further, under communism, there is a central government that controls all the economic aspects and is responsible for providing its citizens with basic requirements. Also, unlike in communism, the socialist economic system identifies and rewards individual innovations and efforts (Cam & Kayaoglu, 2015).

In their arguments, the majority of Americans who are anti-socialism argue that the system weakens people's initiative as well as reduced work ethic, thereby making citizens too reliant on government services for support (Egbert, 2015). Most of the Americans, therefore, believe in individual choices and freedoms. Hence, with socialism, people's incentive to innovate and improve is reduced (Egbert, 2015).

Services such as education, public parks, among others mentioned, are services that are communally owned and provided by the government. Therefore, these services factor into arguments for socialism because even though individuals can own some of these services, they are sensitive and thus controlled by a democratically elected government (Cam & Kayaoglu, 2015). The government controls vital services that cannot be owned by individuals like highways. Hence, these depict the socialist economic system.

References

Cam, T., & Kayaoglu, M. (2015). Marx's distinction between socialism and communism. Journal of Human Sciences, 12(1), 385-391. Retrieved from https://www.j-humansciences.com/ojs/index.php/ijhs/article/view/3152

Egbert, D. D. (2015). Socialism and American life (Vol. 1). Princeton University Press. Retrieved from https://books.google.co.ke/books?hl=en&lr=&id=5wzWCgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR9&dq=communism+and+socialism&ots=R2qTBrD5lt&sig=wT_1h31pQVM4YA4u8xX2gmroCA8&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=communism%20and%20socialism&f=false