Capitalism or socialism?

Question

Capitalism or socialism?

4 Answers

Answer Question

Answer 1

I will have to give my entry as Capitalism, my friend. Good luck.

Answer 2

Capital is defined as the “means of production.”

www.economicsdiscussion.net/factors-of-production/meaning-of

All systems of governance support the means of production
(manufacturing, farming, utilities, etc). Therefore, all governments are
essentially capitalist. The difference is, ownership of the capital.

In free market systems the capital is privately owned. On the
other end of the spectrum, communism owns all of the capital and they also
include people as capital. Therefore, under communism the people are in bondage
(“enslave”) to the government.

Answer 3

When you have more than you need for your own consumption, you have capital. If you can eat 3 apples, but can pick 20, 17 apples are your capital (or profit). You can trade them for something that someone else has excess of, or you can sell them and use the money to improve your apple production by buying ladders or trucks, or hiring more apple pickers, or planting more apple trees, or you can give your excess to the government so they can distribute it to everyone.

You both personally profit by trade, but you don't improve the means of production. You don't improve the means of production, and you don't profit, from giving it to the government; the only way you are made better off is by begging the government for some of the stuff they get from other producers. ONLY by converting the excess (or profit) to money, and reinvesting it, will you improve the lot of future apple pickers, reward people for honest labor, and have more apples at lower cost.

This is why capitalism is the best system, because it allows you to convert excess production into money, and to convert money into investment, so that you can have more goods, cheaper goods, improved goods, and better wages.

Answer 4

A mixed of both, but socialism is the less evil of the two. If you want to understand how capitalism works just follow where your diamond wedding ring came from. Follow your clothes. Follow the lumber from which your house was built. Plenty of places around the world with depressed economies and poor living conditions. All given up to support our beautiful capitalism and the high living standard inside our soil. Who cares about the people outside that make it all happen? As a beneficiary of such a thing, how can I possibly say it's bad? But it's ignorant to not realize the reality of the systems that we live in. And it's unfair to the millions of people across the world making it happen for us. Just want to make that point across.

As for socialism somehow stopping people from being driven into accomplishing greatness or striving for success as I hear so often, I'm sure our Scandinavian friends would like a word on that.