Answer to Question #228912 in English for ahmed

Question

essay:

Compare and contrast capitalism and socialism

Answer 1

Socialism is defined as an economic and political system under which the means of production are publicly owned. Production and consumer prices are controlled by the government to best meet the needs of the people. Capitalism is an economic system under which the means of production are privately owned. Production and consumer prices are based on a free-market system of supply and demand.

Socialism is most often criticized for its provision of social services programs requiring high taxes that may decelerate economic growth while capitalism is most often criticized for its tendency to allow income inequality and stratification of socio-economic classes.

Capitalism make little or no effort to prevent income inequality. Theoretically, financial inequality encourages competition and innovation, which drive economic growth. Under capitalism, the government does not employ the general workforce. As a result, unemployment can increase during economic downturns. Under capitalism, individuals contribute to the economy based on the needs of the market and are rewarded by the economy based on their personal wealth.

In contrast to capitalism, the main concern of socialism is the elimination of rich and poor socio-economic classes by ensuring an equal distribution of wealth among the people. To accomplish this, the socialist government controls the labor market, sometimes to the extent of being the primary employer. This allows the government to ensure full employment even during economic downturns. 

Capitalism insists that private ownership of property that is land, businesses, goods, and wealth is essential to ensuring the natural right of people to control their own affairs because private-sector enterprise uses resources more efficiently than government while socialists, on the other hand, believe that property should be owned by everyone. They argue that capitalism’s private ownership allows a relatively few wealthy people to acquire most of the property.

The profit incentive of capitalism’s private ownership encourages businesses to be more efficient and innovative, enabling them to manufacture better products at lower costs while socialists say that state ownership prevents business failures, prevents monopolies, and allows the government to control production to best meet the needs of the people.

Socialism states that governments have a moral responsibility to provide essential social services. They believe that universally needed services like healthcare, as a natural right, should be provided free to everyone by the government whereas capitalism contend that state, rather than private control, leads to inefficiency and lengthy delays in providing healthcare services.

In conclusion, socialism strive to eliminate economic inequality by tightly controlling businesses and distributing wealth through programs that benefit the poor, such as free education and healthcare. Capitalism, on the other hand, holds that private enterprise utilizes economic resources more efficiently than the government and that society benefits when the distribution of wealth is determined by a freely-operating market.