Capitalism, Socialism, Consumerism and More!

In class, we were all handed 2 Hershey’s Kisses, except for a few select people who got over 4x more. Obviously, this seemed rather unfair at the time, but we were given the opportunity to gamble (through a Rock-Paper-Scissors tournament) and win more Hershey’s Kisses from our classmates. Everyone was required to participate, as it is like in the real game of life, and some lost out quickly. Others, like me, slowly amassed their fortune, but it was a definite fact that those who started out with the most originally came out on top, stayed on top. This is basically Capitalism, with the rich getting richer, the poor staying poor, and the middle class just barely holding on in the turbulent wake of the rich. It was an entertaining activity, though it still managed to show us what life and economy was like out in the real world, from an experimental standpoint.

Here’s a quick rundown of the types of government, before we dive into Karl Marx’s life:

Capitalism

-Private ownership of industry

-Freedom of competition

-Results in uneven economic classes

-Results in class struggle

-Lower classes may end up revolting

Socialism

-Government ownership of industry

-Goal is to bring economic equality

-Aims for a classless society

Communism

-Goal of classless society achieved

-No government needed

Karl Marx wasn't a poor man. He was raised to a rather wealthy family, and attended a university in Europe to study philosophy, where he excelled academically. After his time at the university, he went on to write many articles about American politics, and what he felt were ideal political situations. He married, and settled down writing a newspaper preaching his political beliefs; telling the world how great Socialism and Communism were. He was unhappy with most of the western world’s Capitalist government, and wrote all about how Communism was an ideal system, showing it as a path to utopian paradise. However, this political activity and message was an outrage among the Industrialist ‘bigwigs’ in the western world, who organized their power to have Marx kicked out of Germany, and then out of France, claiming he was a threat to society with his radical views and beliefs. Afterward, he settled in England, where he lived out his days preaching his ideals. In addition, Socialism was a popular alternative style of government. It aimed for a classless society, where the government intervenes only to keep people at the same level, so not quite as drastic as Communism, but still with some guidelines and regulations as there is in Capitalism. Another popular view of how the government should treat the economy was ‘The Invisible Hand’. It was a metaphor created by Adam Smith in the mid 16th century, and basically said that the economy could, and should, regulate itself. This version of government intervention with economy was widely accepted by rich businessmen (Industrialists) because it allowed for them to create a monopoly on the markets in which they were already partially controlling, and for less taxation to occur. Even though monopolies could be created, everyone still had a chance, as a smaller vendor could always lower prices to compete, propelling their own profits sky high at the cost of the previously rich.

Sadly, there are problems with each of these. Let’s start with Communism and Socialism. Sure, they sound good on paper, but in real life they just don’t work well. Take a look at the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, North Korea, and China. When one thinks of these countries, they usually think of anarchy or oppression. It’s true, Socialist and Communist ideals just don’t work well. Now that those two are out of the way, let’s move on to ‘The Invisible Hand’. This wouldn’t really work because the market would be way too unstable to be successful, and its fluctuations would cause the market to repeatedly crash at the beginning, leaving some on top and some on the bottom, defeating its purpose. Now that leaves us with Capitalism, what the USA is operating on right now. I don’t really have a problem with it, but I don’t love it. It’s okay for the most part, with the obscenely rich becoming richer, yet still giving the lower and middle classes a chance to move up through hard work. So nothing that I know of so far is perfect, but I’m sure that will change in time.

Resources:

Quick Intro to 'The Invisible Hand'

Karl Marx Quick Bio:

What Motivated Adam Smith: