why do people hate capitilism, and why does socialism seem so appealing to other people?

Question

all thoughts on the subject would be awsome...............

Answer 1

Capitalism is an intelligent response to human nature. Humans are naturally self preserving. Capitalism acknowledges that and is a system where most benefit from others' self preservation.

Socialism in theory is a great idea (all work together for the common goal) but when its applied is it can collapse easily. It also disregards the individual. Not to mention by not having competition, which capitalism encourages, the progression of society is much slower.

Look at the Great Leap Forward. Mao had a goal in mind for his whole country, altruistic in nature, but in the end forced people to labor camps and in the end caused the death of possibly 10's of millions of his citizens.

Note that before the fall of the USSR the Soviet economy was decades behind the USA.

Please refer to Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations and the Invisible Hand theory.

Answer 2

You will always find people who hate, or more correctly disagree with, any philosophy of economics, government, or religion. And yet, every one has its own strenths and weaknesses.

Capitalism tends to lead a nation to prosperity, but it can also lead to the destruction of an economy, a nation, or a planet.

One example: While drug companies (the legal ones) make obscene profits, leading to a better life for their stock holders, people are dying because they can't afford their products... and the drug companies are trying hard to keep poor people from getting the drugs they need at a better price from another country that has better control of their monopolies.

Socialism tends to keep the few from becoming wealthy at the expense of the poor (the exact opposite of capitalism), though it is possible to accrue wealth in a socialist system. We have seen pure socialism fail repeatedly around the world, and yet even America, the bastion of capitalism, finds more and more aspects of socialism necessary and advantageous.

There is an optimal balance of socialism and capitalism, which America has not yet found. The current administration is pure capitalist, seeking to enhance the wealth of the upper class at the expense of the poor and needy. That is not acceptable. But distributing the nation's wealth equally among the poor and wealthy is not feasable either.

We must, however, check the greed of the wealthy in this nation, which is demonstrated by their efforts to be taxed at the same rate as the poor are, to hide their wealth overseas and in other tax shelters, and to eliminate the estate tax which forces the most extremely wealthy Americans to share a very small portion of their abundance with the needy.

Modified Capitalism is the best economic system that mankind has ever devised, but runaway capitalism (and greed) in America, encouraged and facilitated by the Bush administration and the Republican Senate and Congress in his pocket, is inhumane and will destroy this nation if it is not checked soon.

Answer 3

Well, you could have also just asked "why do people hate socialism, and why does capitalism seem so appealing to other people?".
The truth is both can be taken to extremes. The kind of capitalism defended mainly by neo conservatives is the kind that promotes massive accumulation of wealth in the hands of a select few by any means. Socialism taken to the extreme is called communism, where every social and economic aspect of society is controlled by the government.
What's needed is a balance. Government has a place in ensuring that monopolies are not formed and to supply services essential to a healthy democratic country such as security, education, health care and infrastructure. It's not the job of the government to tell people how to spend or invest their money and certainly it's not the government's job to dictate peoples social and moral norms (everyone should do whatever they want as long as they don't harm anyone else doing so).

Answer 4

I like a lot about capitalism, but if I had to hate one thing about it, it might be how the Hiltons have made so much money that Paris will never have to work a day in her life. I know her family earned the money, but she and most likely generation of family members can sit around and be famous for doing nothing. Meanwhile there is single mom out there working two jobs and trying to provide for her children.

Flip the coin and you have socialism. Under socialism, we are all covered Healthcare, Retirement and Welfare. However, some argue it discourages people from working hard because these programs for free. When those who work hard do amass wealth, a portion of it goes to pay for the benefits that everyone is eligible for.

I think we need to find a middle ground between both philosophies.

Answer 5

Capitalism seems callous and cut-throat. It mean business is king and survival of the fittest. Anyone who falls through the cracks of society gets no mercy. Socialism seems more humane. People work and the wealth is distributed. Quality of life is more important than corporate health. Each has it's flaws as a system, and capitalists will tell you that socialism breeds laziness and economic stagnation. Socialists will say capitalism favors the rich and creates a gulf between the classes that the poor will never be able to cross.

I read there is no such thing as pure capitalism or pure socialism. Most countries blend the two to some degree or another.

Answer 6

Most people do not hate capitalism, but given the widening gap between upper class and middle class more families are hoping for something to come along that will even the field. The current administration and Congressional leadership does not recognize that inflation is rising yet wages are stagnant. If wages do go up, then companies will ship even more jobs to overseas. Middle America also feels that the Republican led Congress gives more tax breaks to the already wealthy, so that puts more disdain on the capitalist concept.

Answer 7

Some of the weaknesses of pure capitalism is that the "lower classes" can be horribly exploited. In addition, it can be really harmful to the environment without govt intervention. Pure capitalism can also put a strain on relations with other countries (flooding the international market with cheaply made goods, for example).

Socialism is appealing because the emphasis is on being fair to "the masses" and not an emphasis on just making the biggest profit you can.

Answer 8

People hate capitalism because it is a system that allows people with money to allow the fact that they have money to be the basis for earning even more money (proof that this true are things like fractional reserve banking and stuff like that). In addition, capitalist countries always end up with governments that become corrupt by corporations who lobby politicians and fund campaigns of people who will basically go with their program (that program is usually not for "the people"). In general, what you get is a system in which the wealthy control everything from the ground up and, like a vice, clamp down on the poor and middle class and juice them for everything they are worth.

Socialism is appealing because it keeps this from happening by handing the power over to the government. The problem is that the government often times will become corrupt also.

Both systems have major problems and people need to recognize that. People should be allowed to get wealthy from hard work, but dynasty building and money weaving is not fair to the working people.

Answer 9

You can`t have pure capitalism and you cannot have pure socialism because both need a leader or decider with absolute power to run. However we can have a Democratic country with some capitalistic ideas and some social programs. So the debate is just hot air and we should move on to other issues.

Answer 10

I don't hate capitalism, but I understand the people that do. Capitalism is the economic theory of greed. Capitalism, taken to extremes, promotes excessive greed, a lack of consideration for the less fortunate, and an uneven and often criminal distribution of assets.

Socialism is appealing to people who want the government to take care of those who are not in a position to take care of themselves. But it can also go too far, and eliminate all impetus for hard work.

There is a delicate balance point somewhere between the winner-take-all of capitalism and the share-the-wealth theory of socialism. Most countries go too far in one direction or the other.