Socialism: Outweighing Disadvantages Above Advantages
Although there are many different interpretations of socialism, Oxford Dictionaries defines it as “a political and economic theory of social organization that advocates that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community as a whole. ” When looking at the beneficiaries of socialism we can see its passion towards free healthcare, free education, creating an equal and balanced society, and preventing economic crises, however how can this even be achieved? Where is the wealth creation? In which ways can every citizen be content with a decision that the community, or government, makes? How does one dictate the common good for its country?
In today’s modern society, socialism disadvantages far outweigh its advantages. As a system whose “effects include economic destruction, failure, and misery”, a country needs to be socially aware on how to execute these surreal ideas. Living in a world that is economically and politically driven, people’s main desire is power, and we can see why many favor socialism. Often a person’s real reason towards a shift in socialism is the interest of wealth redistribution. Everyone wants what they cannot have, and many believe that through socialism, fairness and equality is the correct path, however little do they know of the sacrifices individuals must make.
Socialism is centrally revolved around redistribution of income with an ownership of assets owned by the government and cooperatives. With this, individuals are restrictive with financial choices. The loss of economic freedom, reduction from innovation, disincentive to work, and possible government failure (through inefficient allocation of resources) are merely just some of the negative aspects that come with this system. One way or another socialism can only go so far. Implementing this system fully would never work without adjustments. When comparing socialism and communism, both systems have many similar goals and almost follow similar structures. Socialism can be confused at times with communism because both follow authoritarian rules and unfortunately, in this day and age, one can easily corrupt this process. This is where capitalism comes into play; outlining the positive relationship between economic freedom and prosperity.
Socialism is basically the antonym of Adam Smith’s views on economic policies. As Smith states, “It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker, that we can expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest. ” Using tools such as laissez-faire or the invisible hand results in a larger and freer market resulting in a society becoming productive through their own needs and self-interest. Although capitalism is not a perfect system either, it can be sought out to have less problems than socialism (in specific context). Despite capitalism not being the perfect solution to efficiently solve problems, it is one of the only systems to the both enhance and increase freedom and growth. Having a country’s prices determined by supply and demand, income run by market forces, and having limited government spending and involvement, offers freedom to choose, which all in all brings a higher rate of satisfaction through profits. Through these factors will ultimately help guide and create the best outcome for the population. Some argue that living in a capitalistic world generates more competition and inequality, on the other hand it adapts. It permits
No one person has the same values and morals, so how can a society be tailored to enforce decisions that would supposedly be beneficial to all? Socialism in the short or long run can create conflicts and disagreements between the membered individuals. A perfect example of the flaws in socialism can be presented through the situations occurring in Venezuela. Government overspending and price ceilings where big factors that destroyed the country economically. This new inflation, by the government, creates conflicts with price controls and shortly after exposes shortages throughout the country on a significant amount of goods. Despite having other problems such as corruption, U. S. sanctions, oil deficits, having turned to a mixed capitalistic system and allowing price to be dictated by supply and demand could have prevented this problem.
Even though capitalism has its flaws, the incorporation of collective action creates a stronger mixed system. Having some government intervention in economic decisions will guide a country to achieve social aims to keep the playing field balanced and rational. Shifting to a mixed capitalistic system is sought out to be best of both worlds between capitalism and socialism sharing several values.
When looking at socialism, it can go one of two ways and for the most part it goes down the same path as Venezuela. Although places such as Denmark, Finland, Sweden, and Norway for example have had a successful socialistic itinerary, they have not followed the complete path of socialism; only a mere augmentation of its policies. Socialism can be said to be very flexible depending on the situation, and as Lawrence W. Reed perfectly states, “it’s socialism until it doesn’t work, then it was never socialism in the first place. ” Socialism is perceived to have this amazing transformation to solve all our problems however in the end a country’s collapse can also be at stake here. Like mentioned before it can go one of two ways and taking account the risks in every aspect is crucial to have a transparent understand about the reality of socialism.
