Communism vs. Capitalism

As many of us know, every country has a type of economic system that is used by its authorities to boost its economy. The most common types of economic system are the capitalist system and the communist system. The communist system and the capitalist system have many different advantages and disadvantages even if they are used by many authorities to stimulate the economies of their countries. Many people are not aware of the advantages or the disadvantages of the capitalist system and the communist system. They are not also aware if they are different somehow. However, as a matter of fact, the communist system and the capitalist system are different in many ways, and each of them can help or harm a nation in many different ways. The capitalist system is different compared to the communist system because in a capitalist system, property right exists among individuals, or education or wealth, which is not provided by the government, does not distribute equally; people are motivated by self-interest; or most individuals are not financially equal. However, in a communist system, it is absolutely different.

Property right exists in a capitalist system but not in a communist system where property, education, or wealth is distributed equally by the government. In a capitalist system, people possess their own properties and have the right to do whatever that they want with them in most cases. Their properties do not belong to the government. They are the ones who can decide what to do with them. The government has little right to their properties because of the many tremendous limitations that it has. In addition to that, most people have to pay for their education in a capitalist system. There are some capitalist countries where people cannot afford to pay for their education; as a result, they cannot go to school. They cannot find a source of income to pay for their lives. However, in a communist system, the government is the one who is in charge of all the properties, who can dictate people what do with them, or who is in charge of education. No one has any property right. The government shares all the properties and provides education equally to the people. Everyone has the chance to go to school or to pay for his or her life. In a simple statement, in a communist system, properties are owned by the state or by the government, but in a capitalist system, properties are owned by individuals.

People are motivated by self-interest in a capitalist system, but in a communist system, it is different. Almost everyone wants to be at the top of the ladder in a capitalist system. Most people do not want to share their properties. They do not care about others. They care only about themselves. Some rich people will not be afraid or care to take a dollar from a poor so that they can become richer. All that is in their mind is trying to have more. However, in a communist system, people are motivated to help each other out. They collaborate to help the community as a whole. Because properties are distributed equally to individual by the government in a communist system as it has been stated in the preceding paragraph, people are not motivated by self-interest, but they are very motivated by their zeal to help their country or their community to prosper as a whole.

Lastly, not at all, most people are not financially equal in a capitalist system, but in a communist system, it is somehow different. Because most people are motivated by self-interest and wealth and education are not distributed by the government, people end up not to be equal in a capitalist system. That causes many problems. People who have more money may think that they are better than the ones who have less money. People who have more education may also think the same way as the ones who have more money. When people are motivated by self-interest or have to defend for themselves, the elephants are going to save themselves, but the ants are going to struggle or die because they lack many capacities that the elephants have. Sometimes there is a lack of balance in the distribution of income. For example, 5 percent of the people who are at the top of the ladder have more than eighty percent of the United States’ resources, but the other 95 percent who are at the bottom of the ladder have less than twenty percent of the resources. That simply means that the rich represent only 5 percent of the population but have more than fourth-fifth of the resources, or the people who are in the middle class and the poor represent 95 percent of the population but have only less than 20 percent of the resources of this country. However, in a communist system, almost everyone is equal. People have equal opportunities. The government gives everybody the same amount of right or wealth or provides equal education to everybody. As a result, everyone has the chance to eat a piece of bread. However, that did not stop many people from saying that the communist system is somehow disadvantageous because it almost gives the habitants no freedom or possibility to grow or to become billionaires as the people in a capitalist system can.

In conclusion, both a capitalist system and a communist system have many advantages and disadvantages; as a result, knowing which one is better is difficult but remains neutral. In a capitalist system, people are motivated by self-interest, which causes many of them to grow easily, but that do not leave space for many others to grow or to eat a piece of bread. Nevertheless, in a communist system, everyone can eat a piece of bread, but it is almost impossible for them to grow as many rich people in a capitalist system can. Property, education, and wealth are equally shared by the government. Everyone is equal. But in a capitalist system, people have to defend for themselves and are not equal. Those aspects seem to make the capitalist system and the communist system different to each other.

Education:

AA, Palm Beach State College (May 2012)

BS, Florida Atlantic University (Expected date of Graduation, May 2014. 2 more economics electives courses to go).