Capitalism Vs. Socialism: Comparing Belgium to America

In response to Socialism as a better way of life than Capitalism, one must realize that there is a con to every pro. In the case of a country like Belgium, a good example of a socialist country, there is a matching principle that can be applied. Wealth is spread more evenly, however there is a marked lack of ambition in Socialist societies. The unemployed are well taken care of, but has been coined by some to be a welfare country. There is free basic health care available for all residents of this country, however the healthcare is not the best and there is long waits for care. The government in a socialist culture basically takes care of their citizens and there is peace. On the other side of heavy government help comes high taxation to pay for it. There is also a seemingly higher government control that comes with the aid, the aid does not come with no strings. There is three main languages in Belgium, not having a unified language has caused issues in the government, a country that was without a running government or head for 541 days. “Tensions between the two language communities sometimes runs high, and the issue has brought down several governments creating frequent political instability” (Profile, 2011).

Capitalism is also a style of governmental that has its ups and down. A country like the United States is called a capitalist country, but in part there are socialist ideas that have formed something of a hybrid. There is less taxation paid on income and fossil fuels, however there is less government aid. Healthcare is expensive and many cannot afford it, however it is considered the best. Money is spent to develop new and improved procedures and medication. Standard of living is considered to be one of the highest in the world, however lack of government aid allows homelessness and early death due to unpaid medical procedures. Open trade and lax business requirements, America is considered the place to make your dreams come true, correctly coined the American dream. However with this free trade and opportunity comes a gross inequity of wealth. Most of the country’s wealth is in the hands of a few percentage of the population, as heard in the news, the 1 percent. Freedom of speech also unique to this type of country, is another way of letting everyone judge and be heard. Although the country may elect officials, money can buy hours of commercials that will run for a year during election time, tipping the scales. Market saturation with ads can obviously influence the American voters, thus money influences who runs the government. Cash is king in the American world and this will make a person either a have or a have not, however anything is possible in a Capitalist world. Those that aren’t born with money, can acquire it. So no matter how you look at it, whether it be Capitalism or Socialism, there is good and bad to both styles of governing the masses. It would be hard to say that one way was any better than the other.