Capitalism creates growth, prosperity, and jubilance, and is by far the best economic system. Throughout history, economic systems have changed for the betterment of the world or the advancement of corrupt wealthy politicians. Capitalist ideology supports ideas such as growth and prosperity. Capitalism is set up so that there poor can become wealthy, as well as the wealthy can become poor in certain cases. These reasons all point to the fact that the cold-blooded ideology of Socialism and Communism is no match for Capitalism.
Capitalism is both an economic, and political system, in which trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit. This form of capitalism is recorded back to the seventeenth century but didn't become well-known until the era of Adam Smith, capitalism's founding father. Adam Smith is an eighteenth-century philosopher and economist. Adam Smith was the creator of the all-famous Wealth of Nations and created strict written laws about Capitalism. Adam Smith’s philosophy and writing are commonly tied to the modern-day capitalism we know today.
March 9th, 1776, the day the Wealth of Nations was published. This document is such an important part of Capitalism, that many may argue that it’s even more important than the Declaration of Independence, also written in 1776. The Wealth of Nations is based on self-interest. Smith defines the term self-interest as looking out for yourself and looking out for yourself can and will result in prosperity. Little government intervention, or laissez-faire, is vital to Smith’s statement about self-interest creating prosperity. In the web article “Adam Smith and the Wealth of Nations,” the author states, “Smith believed humans ultimately promote public interest through their everyday economic choices.” This means that doing something as simple as simple as buying food at a store will support your economy. Supporting your economy by purchasing everyday needs is one thing socialism and communism can’t offer, this is a big reason I believe capitalism is the best economic system.
Capitalism has not changed much over the years. Countries such as the U.S., Canada, Germany, and Japan all have capitalistic governments and continue to thrive from the day capitalism was introduced to them. This shows consistency in this form of economy. The U.S. has become one of the most wealthy nations in the world because of this consistency. Throughout history we have had little economic failure, yes, we do have our ups and downs, but the way our economy is set up gets us through them just fine. Government should rarely have to intervene in economic matters, but when they do, it’s for reasons such as helping businesses increase essentials like raw materials and selling prices, stopping monopolies, enforcing price ceilings and price floors, and overlooking trade deals. Governments generally intervene in these examples to make sure their country gets the most out of capitalism. Under capitalism, there is a great number of entrepreneurs opening small businesses. Small businesses are always going to have a big impact on the economy, after all, to become a big business you have to start small first. Starting a small business under capitalism is how many millionaires today got to where they are now. Since the ownership of businesses is private, the government does not make money off the business or the people who own them. This allows businesses to grow physically, start chains, and make more money. Businesses like Walmart, Target, and McDonald’s all started small but became big with the help of capitalism. Outside of businesses, people can become wealthy and live a comfortable life by working. Under capitalism, workers can work for competitive prices whether they have a college degree or not. Many jobs such as working at restaurants and grocery stores do not require degrees, and many people can make a living off of working these jobs. If you decide to go to college and get a degree in a certain subject, you can get a job based on what you went to college for. Many jobs that require a college degree are high-paying, and offer benefits and different types of insurance. Working under a capitalistic system is what most people opt to do, but it has been proven that it works and helps the economy. Small businesses, workers, and consistency are a major part of the growth of countries under Capitalism. All of these reasons show why I am proud to be a Capitalist.
Like Capitalism, Socialism is a political and economic system. Business ownership under a Socialism based economic system results in businesses almost always being owned under public, instead of private, ownership. The Socialist viewpoint is that everyone’s job is considered equal, and if you are a part of making a product, you have to share it. This shows that under a Socialist economy, you have to rely on your fellow human beings to do their job so food will be on your table tonight. That being said, society and government are completely in control of businesses and are in charge of taking care of each person. This is why Socialism is considered the complete opposite of Capitalism.
Socialism was created around the year 1948. Karl Marx, a famous prussian philosopher, is accredited to the creation of socialism. His book, the Communist Manifesto, talks about and sets clear rules within Communism and Socialism. Communism, like Socialism and Capitalism, is a political and economic system. During Karl Marx’s early adult life, he was a prolonged Socialist who always supported early European Socialism. It was when Karl Marx moved to Paris France that turned him into a communist. He described communism as “utterly crude and intelligent,” as stated in “Karl Marx German Philosopher from Encyclopedia Britannica.” Karl Marx stated that Socialism and Communism are bad, but was simply moved by their characteristics. That statement shows that if the founding father of communism, and a socialist supporter think they are bad, those economic systems must be bad.
Major countries that run under Socialism include China, Cuba, Vietnam, and North Korea. All of these countries have had recent hardships due to Socialism. China is facing major problems such as pollution, big losses in natural resources, and sanitation problems. These problems are due to the governing body of China not caring about their people, and only caring about money. This is typical for governments with a Socialist leader and economy. Vietnam since the Vietnam War has, been and still is facing violent disagreements between its citizens. This is due to many citizens disagreeing with their socialist policies. Recently Cuba elected a new president and is no longer ruled by communists. This is because Cuba was facing harsh human rights problems and trade embargoes. Now Cuba is considered a Socialist State and is currently fixing problems within the country. North Korea is a prime example of why Socialism is bad. North Korea’s economy is getting worse by the day and continuously getting closer to Communism. North Korea struggles to keep power on, feed, and protect its citizens. North Korea's current ruler Kim Jong Un seems to threaten any country that disagrees with his beliefs. These are all prime examples of what happens in a Socialist country.
Socialism hasn’t changed much from its early roots. Throughout the years countries have slowly begun to realize that socialism isn't the way to go. I know this because an ever-increasing number of countries have switched from Socialism to Capitalism. Socialism is beginning to be no match to capitalism due to a lack of rights, private ownership, and pure government control. The incentives to live in a Socialist economy are also very low. Spending money to go to a University to become a doctor, vs. going to university to become a teacher isn’t worth it. This is because doctors and teachers will be making around the same amount of money even though doctors most likely had to put in more money and work. Unless you are a high-up government official or the family of a high-up government official, Socialism will most likely not treat you very well. Socialism has many flaws and is much more inconsistent than Capitalism.
Socialism has a more extreme form known as Communism. Communist advocates describe Communism as a more advanced form of Socialism. The main difference between Communism and Socialism is that Communism has no personal property, no class system, and no government control. Generally, one person leads a Communist state, and the government is just an advisor to that leader. Thrust Communism in its true form is comparable to, and a lot like a dictatorship. Just like a dictatorship, Communist nations pretty much always fail.
There are currently no countries with a complete Communist government and economy. Most people do consider Socialist countries such as Cuba, North Korea, and Vietnam Communists, they have mixed traits from Capitalism, Socialism, and Communism. The main examples of Communist countries are the Soviet Union, which is now Russia, and Germany. Germany and the Soviet Union both reached their highest point of power around WWII. They both grew massive militaries, scared many nations to side with them, and controlled the trade routes and economies of other countries. Throughout Germany and the Soviet Union’s history under communism, we saw their citizens suffering from starvation and poor living conditions, mass genocide due to race and other characteristics, and huge wars starting around the world. As these two Communist nations continued to grow even more in terms of military and land, which was violently taken from other countries, massive war broke out. Countries such as the U.S. and Great Britain had to put their foot down and end communism. Long story short, Germany’s leader Adolf Hitler was killed, which put an end to Germany’s Communist Reich, and the Soviet Union's leader Joseph Stalond fell shortly after that along with the Soviet Union as a whole.
Adolf Hitler was a huge Communist practitioner and perhaps the most well-known “bad guy” in history. Hitler fought in WWI for Germany. After the war, he started an activist group against the German-Austrian government. His so-called group called Nazis were against the German-Austrian government and were protesting because they believed Germany is the dominant nation in the world, and should fight to restore their once great German nation. Hitler’s small group of Nazis were in the middle of a protest when many of them were shot and killed, or imprisoned. During Hitler's imprisonment, he wrote a book called Mein Kampf, which means My Fight in English. Mein Kampf was split into two main volumes, the first volume was written while Adolf Hitler was imprisoned, and the second was written after his imprisonment. Mein Kampf is a harsh and some say evil book. It is known to show the truth behind the twisted minds of Communists. Phrases from Mein Kampf like “The scream of the twelve-inch shrapnel is more penetrating than the hiss from a thousand Jewish newspaper vipers. Therefore let them go on with their hissing,” and “Only the Jew knew that by an able and persistent use of propaganda heaven itself can be presented to the people as if it were hell and, vice versa, the most miserable kind of life can be presented as if it were paradise. The Jew knew this and acted accordingly. But the German, or rather his Government, did not have the slightest suspicion of it. During the War, the heaviest of penalties had to be paid for that ignorance.” These statements truly show the evil side of Communists and their point of view.