Discussion: Capitalism vs. Communism
Capitalism and communism are the most popular form of economy in the history of the world. While capitalism is market-driven, communism is said to be a state-owned form of economics. In a capitalist economy, the government does not intervene, but instead, it leaves to be controlled by market forces. Capitalist life, as well as society, is thus shaped by the nature of the market. In a communist economy, all the available resources and properties are owned up and controlled by the government for the good of all people within the society. The government intervenes in businesses as well as services in a communist economy. The economy does not allow for personal ownership of property or wealth. The planning of a communist economy is centralized and attempts to make society a bit more equitable.
The aim of this discussion, therefore, is to show the advantages and disadvantages of both capitalism and communism economy. A significant advantage of the capitalist economy is that consumers have the room to choose what they are going to consume a condition that increases completion and hence better services and product quality. The efficiency of economics is evidence in that goods, as well as services, are produced on the bases of their demand where incentives are created, thus cutting costs and avoiding wastage. Economic growth is achievable as a factor that leads to an increase in gross state products and hence improved standards of living. Capitalism has its disadvantages, which include cases of the monopoly of power, inequality, recession as well as unemployment. The advantages of a communist economy include a centrally planned economy, which makes it quick and easy to mobilize the available resources on a large scale. It as well allows for massive initiation of projects, which as a result creates industrial power. The disadvantages of a communist economy include lack of competition as well as efficiency. This makes the growth rate slow.
Responses
Stephani Lammers
Both capitalism and socialism are indeed significant economic systems. Either of the two economies is adopted for various reasons depending on the operating management. In the socialism economy, the government intervenes in the control of commercial activities. There is a centralized form of operation and resource sharing. However, unlike communism, socialism allows for a certain degree of private ownership of properties. Unlike in the case of the capitalist economy, there are fewer chances of monopoly power since planning is centralized. In a capitalist government, the purchase of wealth is individual, and the economy is characterized by high competition and hence the efficiency of services. The quality of goods and services is evident in the capitalist economy in the effort to have a competitive advantage. The competition in the capitalist economy makes increased productivity and hence expansion as well as societal growth. Socialism experience slow growth rate but equal sharing of the resource among the people.
Evan Kerl
Capitalism’s economy does give people the power over the resources but is a market-driven economy. In this economy, individuals are offered a chance to compete with each other in owning property and hence growth and expansion. However, the economy is characterized by a monopoly of power. In this case, the government does not intervene in the market economy. The consequences are people securing more business and resources for themselves to be advantageous for others. This, unlike the socialism economy, where the government controls the market as well as exercise centralized planning and hence equitable distributions of resources. However, there is equal resource sharing in the socialism economy, and the economy experienced slow growth due to joint ownership of properties amongst people in the society. The economies are faced with the challenges of dependency, which makes people less active. The capitalist economy suffers an equal distribution of resources as people are selfish and self-centered and only want to fill their baskets.