Which is good; Capitalism or Socialism?

Points in favor of capitalism:-
1. The right to own property is considered as a major right that is present since the existence of the man. Therefore, the private ownership of property allows the individuals security and also the way in which they can control their affairs. The ownership of land, goods and business brings with it a responsibility and in this way, the individuals can also plan regarding their future so that they can provide for themselves as well as for their families in future. For example, when a person owns a house or land, it is possible for such a person to borrow money against such property that can be used by such person to invest for their future. However, when the right to own private property is not available, such borrowing and investment is not possible and it results in a lack of economic growth.

2. Capitalism is very important because the right to succeed is considered as one of the strongest motivations that are present for the human beings in their work. On the other hand, when the work being done by the individuals is not related with any reward, or when there is an artificial safety available to individuals according to which, the individuals continue to enjoy a high standard of living even if they don’t work hard, the whole society suffers as a result. Therefore the fact that the individuals are driven to do better is in the favor of the interests of everybody.

3. In case of capitalism, the prices are decided by the market which includes the price of labor or wages. Therefore it some individuals are getting huge sums the reason is that it is believed by others that these people have a unique talent due to which they are worth paying such huge sums. If these persons do not perform according to the expectations of others, they will not continue to receive these high amounts. In this way, it is a part of the capitalist system in which the ability and risk-taking capabilities of a person are rewarded accordingly. It also needs to be noted that capitalism is not a monolithic system and there are certain elements of control present in capitalism. For example, the system of taxation is also a creation of capitalism and it is accepted by nearly all capitalists that the state has a role to play in regulating the market from setting prices and also to help the persons who are facing absolute poverty.

4. Capitalism is better because in case of socialist systems, the guidance provided by the government is very strong as a result the process of change becomes very slow. This results in a lack of innovation. Such a situation is not in favor of business and at the same time, it also affects the life of the people as the people become poorer due to such a system. On the other hand, in case of the capitalist systems, the economy is diverse enough and as a result, in case a problem arises in one particular sector, the other sectors are generally insulated by such problems. But this is not the case in socialist systems where a central control is present and diversity is not present. As a result, any mistake by the government having central control results in an adverse impact on almost everything. It has also been suggested that often these socialist systems become inefficient and corrupt and as a result, the state has to force its labor in order to continue functioning. An example of such a situation can be given in the form of the failure of former Soviet Union and other command economies and this fact is also elaborated by the failure of nationalized industries in a number of Western countries.

5. As in the capitalist systems, the individual rules the societytherefore a question arises if any person will like to live in any other way. But this is not the case in socialist systems where the state rules the society. Therefore, such a situation will not be liked by any person.

6. Competition is essential for business as it helps in providing better products and services and it also makes the introduction of more efficient processes. Although it is true that in some cases, monopolies may be created but these can be effectively dealt with by regulatory methods like the Monopolies Commissions. An example in this regard can be given of the Microsoft case or the case where the regulators have prevented the merger of some airlines on the grounds of competition. In this way, active efforts are made in capitalism to prevent the formation of monopolies. However, in case of socialist systems, monopolies become an inevitable part of every aspect of society as there is a monopoly of the state. In the same way, concerns have also been expressed regarding the protection of human rights under socialism.

Points in favor of socialism:
There are many persons who believe that socialism is better as compared to capitalism. According to these persons:-

1. The wealth present on the earth is owned by all men or it can also be said that it belongs to nobody in particular. But in case of capitalism, the wealth is concentrated in a few hands while the majority of people are left with practically nothing at all and they live at the mercy of the few rich people for whom they work or receive charity. Such a situation results in exploitation and inequality and it also creates misery for the poor people. Similarly, the situation is not economically efficient because in this case the rich persons already have so much that they no longer have any incentive for using their resources productively. On the other end, efforts are made under socialism to redistribute the wealth and also to make sure that the means of production serve the whole society and everybody benefits from them.

2. Motivation can also be present in case of socialism. There are many persons who are motivated by their desire to help their fellow persons. With the passage of time, when the benefits of socialism become apparent to all the people, all persons will start working equally hard. The desire to share the wealth among the community and also to support all the persons, where nobody is left behind, can be described as amongst the purest feelings that can be experienced by the mankind. Such a situation is not only possible but it also reveals the development that can be made by the human beings to become a finer and more humane species.

3. The funds that are received by the people under the capitalist system can be described as perverse. For example, there can be a chief executive of a company or a football player who is earning 1000 times more as compared to a nurse. In this way, under the capitalist system, the wealth is concentrated only in the hands of a few persons. Similarly in capitalism, while the rich continue to become richer, the poor keep on becoming poorer. It has been alleged that in this system, the poor persons are fooled as they are made to believe that they can gain something under capitalism while in reality they are being paid their wages only with a view to hold them in their place but all their savings are being swept away by the period of unemployment.

4. In case of the capitalist systems, the economies are essentially unplanned. As a result, it is not uncommon to see the crash of an economy in a capitalist system which results in economic depression due to which the lives of millions of people are destroyed. On the other hand, the economies are well planned in a socialist system. This allows the government to foresee and adopt measures to deal with any problem that may arise in future. In the same way, the socialism also guides with a view to achieve human happiness instead of the gratification or the glorification of a few individuals. In order to achieve this objective, all the persons instead of a few require the element of social control. But the excesses provided by capitalism means that a lot of people will be left behind in poverty. The persons who give the example of the failure of the Soviet Union do not realize that this was not socialism in its real sense as it has not been tried properly but it was merely a corrupt version of central planning that was adopted with a view to serve a few selfish elites instead of achieving the good of the people as a whole. Therefore, some examples of this strength of socialism can be given in the form of the National Health Service of Britain or the social model of welfare provisions adopted in Europe.

5. It cannot be said that the competition is automatically secured in case of capitalism. It is well-known that monopolies are also created under capitalist systems. At the same time, the monopolies created under capitalism are pernicious as they result in huge profits for a few individuals who charge exorbitantly because these products or services cannot be obtained by the people from anywhere else. However, the monopolies created in the socialism are benign because in this case, the interest of the citizens is the main motive behind creating a monopoly instead of enriching a few persons.

6. Although, the language of human rights may be used by capitalism however the rights of the poor are not well respected in case of capitalism as the poor are left to live in the gutters. On the other hand, these rights are well understood by socialism which provides the right to work or the right to education and also the right to free health care to all the people. Therefore, a few individuals should not be allowed to hamper the progress of all the people towards the achievement of these lofty objectives.