Capitalism or Communism?

Question

Communism :

1. a theory or system of social organization based on the holding of all property in common, actual ownership being ascribed to the community as a whole or to the state.
2. (often initial capital letter) a system of social organization in which all economic and social activity is controlled by a totalitarian state dominated by a single and self-perpetuating political party.
3. (initial capital letter) the principles and practices of the Communist party.

Capitalism :
an economic system in which investment in and ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange of wealth is made and maintained chiefly by private individuals or corporations, esp. as contrasted to cooperatively or state-owned means of wealth

Capitalism to me has become so cut throat and basically has added to the problems of the world. im intrigued as to which of these people like. I assume most would say Capitalism.

Answer 1

Capitalism is an economic system, Communism a political ideology: You cannot compare apples with pears.

Which instruments will replace the disastrous dynamic of the Capitalism?

The capitalistic movement maintains, that only a "free" market can create a system which provides harmonious balance in society. The fact is however that "Capitalism" predominantly prefers the rich over the poorer and disenfranchised members of society - today in an especially glaring manner. Compensatory measures of the state and democratic decisions are increasingly being subverted so that global resources can be exploited shamelessly.

Therefore, the difference between rich and poor classes and the differential wealth of countries becomes more and more unsustainable on a social basis. Today's bloated praise about the "free" market is particularly absurd: The majority of the world's population does not have access to what we in the wealthier nations consider to be necessary goods and services. Therefore, the unfortunate owners of capital (= the shareholders) are not able to obtain any profit from this majority of disenfranchised individuals. Therefore the "free" market is not optimal for the rich classes and countries...

Social-democratic policy has tried to equalise the situation, but with its minority in the electoral process, it still can not prevent the rich making enormous profits at the expense of the poor.

Answer 2

Put simply:
Communism is a system where someone will give you things without demanding profit, but expect you to do the same for others.

Capitalism is a system where a few will get more from you than they give back.

Unfortunately, the world has never witnessed communism in its true form. It is an ideal that historically has been corrupted by greed.

Take away human greed and communism might work.
Keep human greed and within either system a few will rise above the masses to become an elite that can control the means of production and enslave the workers

Answer 3

Socialism. Its a mid point between the two.

Pure Capitalism causes oppression and suffering. Communism is deeply flawed in practice. Middle ground is needed.

Pure Capitalism causes suffering and oppression which leads to Communism when the poor get sick and tired of taking it in the a** from the rich and demand a redistribution. So one gives birth to the other. Putting Socialist policies in place to provide poor, underpayed "victims" of Capitalism with at least basics such as housing, healthcare, and the ability to feed and clothe themselves and live some sort of decent life will help stave off this kind of revolution. For a while at least!

Answer 4

Capitalism encourages innovation and efficiency. If someone is willing to pay $5.00 for a product I can produce for $4.00, we both win - they get a product that they can't produce, I make a profit that I can use to buy products that I can't produce. Furthermore, it is beneficial to me to find a way to produce the product for $3.50 because I can make a profit.

Communism encourages mediocrity. Why do something more efficiently or at lower cost if the government is controlling the price?

All systems have inherent flaws and, in all systems, the uneducated will be exploited. A Capitalist society at least encourages people to get educated, so they are able to make mutually beneficial exchanges and not get exploited.

Answer 5

Communism is usually a challenge to Capitalism by those who have not against those with too much. Unfortunately, this invariably results in those in charge becoming as rich and as autocratic as those in charge during a capitalistic regime.
With the rise in the number of incredibly wealthy people in the UK and an increasingly poor standard of living for the less well off we may well see some sort of rebellion in years to come. I believe some sort of more flexible tax deduction system will need to be introduced to tax the incredibly rich at a higher rate for their residual income would continue to be higher than most ordinary citizens will ever see in a lifetime.
We need to see a better distribution of wealth through a more equitable tax system.

Answer 6

Unrestrained capitalism and the evils that it brings - is the cause of communism, which is an over-correction.

A capitalist economy under rule of law and regulation is a beautiful thing.

The economic system is also independent of government taxation and social spending, for those who want to drag those issues into the discussion. The US government BUYS from the free marketplace when it provides services.

Answer 7

problem is that capitalism works and communism doesn't.

In capitalism there is competition which forces new innovations, new technologies etc in order to be more competitive. In a communist world there is no competition or any reason to work hard because everything is supposed to be shared. Why would you take risks and invent new technologies if you have to share any money you make from it with the lazy bloke who does nothing of any use.

Communism would be good for less developed nations such as those in Africa but can't see it ever working in a developed economy

Answer 8

Communism was tried for 70 years in the USSR, it was a complete failure. No one wanted to work there was no incentive. Same thing happened in China.

Capitalism is what we have in the USA, it will eventually fail also, because the elected officials become corrupted almost from the start of taking office, and whats right for the citizens who voted them in office, is put aside for personal interest of the elected official.

Answer 9

Under capitalism...

2% of the world's population has over 50% of the wealth

Half the world - over 3 billion people - lives on less than 2 dollars a day

18 million people - including over 10 million children - die needlessly due to hunger and hunger-related causes

REAL communism - NOT the distortion that was Bolshevism...

ensures that EVERY human being has what they need to survive - food, clothing, clean water, shelter

Give me communism over capitalism any day. EVERY Western person bears some blame for the 18 million people who die in poverty each year.

What Powerslave fails to understand is that capitalism would never have achieved the success that the Soviets did - comparing the US with the Soviet Union is foolish because it's not a level playing field - the US started out with far more resources than did the Soviets, yet post-revolution Russia managed to become a world superpower. That would NEVER have happened in Russia under capitalism.

Capitalism is a flawed theory - it will eat itself one day.

lol people talk as if capitalism has been around for all time. Compared to man it's only been around for 5 seconds. It is just another social experiment that will eventually fail. What then?

I'd like to take every person who has thumbed me down and put them in an Indonesian sweatshop that makes their clothes for a month. Then we'll see how wonderful they think capitalism is.

Answer 10

The problem with Communism is:

1) No one can own any property of significance, because property and industry are publicly-owned.
2) No one values anything publicly owned. (Think about it, when was the last time you stopped on the highway to clean a public bathroom, which you technically own a piece of?)

The problem with capitalism is:

1) Exploitation. Just as you bargain shop in the grocery store, employers will bargain shop with employees.

The problems with capitalism can be tweaked with wage minimums and unions.

The problems with communism cannot be fixed.