Where is the Money? Capitalism vs Communism vs Socialism, What is the difference? Why should anybody care?

My last post on the subject of Communism vs Capitalism, has generated quite a bit of traffic to this site, so, I decided to do a follow-up. The first entry was about the differences between the people and such, this post is about the differences of the systems, beliefs, and the pitfalls of each.

First break it down this way, Capital-ism, Commun(e)-ism, and Social-ism, now lets get started.

Capital-ism

An economic system based on a free market, open competition, profit
motive and private ownership of the means of production. Capitalism
encourages private investment and business, compared to a
government-controlled economy. Investors in these private companies
(i.e. shareholders) also own the firms and are known as capitalists.

As the graphic shows, more money gets distributed between fewer people, but why? Can this be a good thing? I guess that depends on where you sit, at the top, bottom, or middle. Myself, I am not too far from the bottom, no, thank God, I am not homeless, jobless, or completely destitute, but the middle is so far above me, I can’t even see it!

I believe that Capitalism is the best way to go, even as an example of what can go wrong, I have had opportunities that I wouldn’t have had otherwise.

With Capitalism, it is basically “survival of the fittest” as in this example.

Those best adapted to particular conditions will succeed in the long run, as in They’ve
had to close a dozen of their stores, but the ones in the western part
of the state are doing well–it’s the survival of the fittest.

So, based on this, the people that do the best are the ones at the top, like Bill Gates and others with a Lot of Money, as in billions! Those that are less successful are further from the top, like me! Would I want to be at the top? No Way! This is what it is all about, with Capitalism, our success is up to us, we sink or swim based on our own decisions, and desires, what ever level we are on, there is always room upwards or downwards! So, work harder, get an education, and do your best, whether at the top or bottom it is up to the individual, not the government, not the society!

Commun(e)-ism

In theory, anticapitalist proposals of Karl Marx and his followers that
communal ownership of the means of production is preferable; in
practice, economic systems in which production facilities are
state-owned and production decisions are made by official policy and
not directed by market action.

Do you know what a commune is? This is one of those words with a history that goes back to medieval times, but to bring it a little more current, lets just say community, which can be defined as:

A group of people living in the same locality and under the same government

So, this is where it gets complicated, if Communism means all property is owned by the community, not individuals, but, does the community make the decisions? No, the “State” or government does! Sorry, but I don’t want the government making my decisions for me! Hmm, kind of like “mandatory” health care!

Social-ism

1. Any of various theories or systems of social organization in which the means of producing and distributing goods is owned collectively or by a centralized government that often plans and controls the economy.
2. The stage in Marxist-Leninist theory intermediate between capitalism and communism, in which collective ownership of the economy under the dictatorship of the proletariat has not yet been successfully achieved.

So, notice the similarities? There are many countries out there that are “socialist” but not communist, as in the definition above, it is intermediate between Capitalism and Communism, but either way, the government makes the decisions, not the people!

However, in many socialist countries, the people own businesses and such, but, the government controls them through taxes, high taxes, and many mandatory regulations, too varied and numerous to list here! Remember the mandatory health insurance issue, that is but only one example, it gets worse!

Pros and Cons

Ok, if you want the Freedom to choose, if you want the opportunity to get to the “top” and make some money, or fail miserably, like me, Capitalism is for you.

If you want the government to own everything and throw you a scrap here and there, Communism is for you.

If you want to go through life, pre-programmed, like a robot or something, where everybody is equally controlled and their social status practically decided by the government, and also funded by those huge taxes, which gets dolled out from the bottom to the top, then maybe socialism is for you!

Post a comment and tell me what you think, do you see how this applies to our current candidates for president? Think about it very carefully, keep government controlled by the people, not the people controlled by the government!
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