preview

Socialism: A Populist Political And Economic System

Better Essays

Socialism is a populist political and economic system where production operates under political influence. This system is also referred to as common ownership. Socialism takes shape through totalitarian, technocratic, oligarchy or a democratic space. In history, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union were prominent socialist nations. Today, some common socialist countries include China, Cuba and Venezuela. The whole idea of a socialist economy revolves around equal distribution of wealth and a non-competitive market. However socialism has a poor track record and numerous practical challenges in today's world. A free market on the other hand depicts voluntary exchanges that take place in an economy. Free markets are largely autonomous and spontaneous …show more content…

Capitalist economies at the time experienced compounded growth from as early as the 17th century. However, this led to income inequality based on the fact that some families were able to escape poverty faster than others. Following the failure of the socialist ideas in Russia and China, modern socialist economies have resorted to highly regulatory economies. Despite the debate against socialism, the practice is not to its entirety bad. Some economic analysts argue that socialism could indeed be superior to capitalism (free market). For instance, socialism has been credited for eliminating competition as the basis of survival. For instance in today's society, every activity has an element of competition in it. When people are seeking employment there are competing against their counterparts with similar interest. When one is looking for an apartment, they are competing to acquire the much limited …show more content…

People are unable to spend their money as they wish based on their priorities. If a person wants to spend money on food, shelter, clothing, entertainment and leisure in that order. A socialist economy would make such a scenario impossible. After taxes, the individual might only be able to spend their money on the first three items that is food, shelter and clothing. Services such as healthcare, transport and public parks would be provided by the government in a socialist economy. The problem is, some people might not even need some of the provisions from the government. Free market (capitalism) is a structure where the economy thrives on the forces of demand and supply. In a free market economy, it is every man for him. This means that the most successful people are the ones who work hard and smart. Socialism tends to reward every person regardless of their input in the economy. A free market economy on the other hand rewards people on the basis of their input towards economic growth. As long as there are limited resources, people will always have conflict of

Get Access