Preview

Essay On Democratic Socialism

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1565 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Essay On Democratic Socialism
Many advocates for democratic socialism claim that it is designed to help the economy and will not interfere with capitalism. Capitalism is defined as an economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state. As democratic socialism is based on regulation of the market by the government, it is impossible for it to coexist with capitalism. Democratic socialism is defined as a political ideology advocating a democratic political system alongside a socialist economic system. This means that while we would remain democratic in most parts of life, the economy would be regulated by the government. You may be asking yourself, why is this a problem? The answer is …show more content…
The most severe problem is that democratic socialists propose a raise in the minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $15 an hour. Again, this sounds great in theory. We’ve all heard the argument that everyone deserves a living wage on which to raise their family. The problem with that argument is that these jobs are not and should not be designed to support a family. Minimum wage jobs are designed to give workers new to the job market training and a job to get by. An economy cannot function without some jobs that are worse than others. If every job could support a family luxuriously, there would be no reason to attempt to go further in a career. If a $15 minimum wage is enacted, many jobs would be destroyed. Through simple supply and demand economics, an increase in wages and thus the supply of labor must yield a decrease in demand for labor. The result of this would be an unprecedented increase in unemployment. This hurts the population that the minimum wage is trying to help. Ask yourself, would you rather make $7.25 an hour or be out of a job while some people are making $15 an hour? Another effect would be an increase in prices on goods for everyone. We cannot assume that business owners would accept the increased cost of doing business and just continue pricing it regularly, thus taking a profit hit. Businesses will raise prices and pass this increased cost onto the consumer. These problems affect the population as a whole, thus offsetting the benefit that the minimum wage is supposedly creating for the

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Capitalism is an economic system where the government is hands off of businesses and people work to make profit, it is based off of private ownership. In document one of the DBQ, it states that capitalism is "based on the private ownership of capital, and on the production of goods and services for profit" (document 1). Even though it may sound like a good idea, many people were unhappy with capitalism because on lthe people who took the risk to invest money were wealthy and everyone else, for the most part was poor. The solution to these problems were new ideas of economic systems. Socialism was one idea. Socialism was an economic system where there is eocnomic equality and the government owns big industries. Documemnt four of the…

    • 277 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the article, “How Socialists Built America,” author John Nichols starts with saying that America was founded as a capitalist country and that socialism is a dangerous and foreign idea; even though we believe in the concept of free trade. Radio talk-show host Rush Limbaugh often says that taxing the wealthy in order to provide healthcare for children and the unemployed is completely against what the nation originally intended and that President Obama’s reforms are “destroying this country as it was founded.” John Nichols is making the argument that socialism is a heated word in politics that republicans use as a tool to belittle their democratic opponents and make them seem un-American.…

    • 686 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Socialism is described as “a social and economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and co-operative management of the economy, as well as a political theory and movement that aims at the establishment of such a system” (Wikipedia, 2014). Socialist economic systems are based on the precept of production for use or the production of goods to directly satisfy the demand and need of the consumer (Wikipedia, 2014). Accumulation of capital and production for profit are not valuable to the socialist movement. Socialist referred to themselves differently around the world, but in America the word “socialist” never stuck (Martin, 2006). Instead, they referred to themselves as liberals just as we refer to the Democrat Party today. They also used the euphuism “democracy” to replace “socialism” making it more acceptable to western society (Worldviews from the 1870s to the Modern Era [DOC document]). “In 1932, the Fabian socialists took over the Democrat Party, making it their political vehicle and, therefore, in the United States, it is the Democrat Party which is the vehicle for socialism” (Martin, 2006).…

    • 814 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Many ideas from different political ideologies can attribute to the rise of the welfare state around the world. Government intervention ,class and power struggles, and social justice are root causes of the rise in the welfare state each coming from different ideologies. However, the rise of the welfare state is mainly caused by the ideas and policies of socialism itself because it allows the government to control the market and goods and leads to greater dependence on the system. There is no decline in socialism, but instead as the welfare state rises the socialist movement is slowly and steadily rising as well.…

    • 2249 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Throughout American history, there have been an array of factions vying for votes in our democratic system of government. These organizations consist of leaders who believe in an idea and have developed ways to achieve that idea. Success of a political organization, or party, is based on how well leaders can convince people to follow them and join their ranks. Socialism as a political idea is based on cooperative ownership and redistribution of goods, services, and production. The Socialist Party of America was one faction whose roots are based in socialism. Created in 1901, the SPA was formed by the combination of the Social Democratic Party of America, a short lived movement, and the Social Labor Party, a working man 's party. This combination attracted new members, as well as members from the progressive and populist parties, which made up the majority of the SPA. The rise of the Socialist Party of America was fueled by the working mans desire for a utopian society. Campaign promises for public ownership of utilities, better…

    • 2119 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Socialism is the means of all aspects of the economy and owned and is regulated by the community. The founder of this theory, Karl Marx, is usually associated with Communism. While Socialism is considered a lower stage of communism, it is actually the middle of the economic systems (Capitalism, Communism, and Socialism). Communism has more of an underlying political effect, whereas Socialism and Communism do not. By Socialism controlling the means of production, this diminishes the idea or private businesses.…

    • 168 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Progressive Reform Essay

    • 931 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Progressive reformers addressed problems of the social and economic aspect, The New Deal brought some relief from the Great Depression, and the economic problems brought by the government. America has succeeded in finding solutions for some of its issues, like the Social Security program, but failed in others such as the problem with discrimination among minorities. Major problems are rarely solved by one solution, in the case with the Great Depression, the programs were a series of solutions to one big problem.…

    • 931 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    According to the Chicago Sun-Times, President Obama has committed himself to forcing the minimum wage up through federal intervention. If he becomes successful, it will only cause harm to the economy, resulting in higher unemployment and less advancement. As I do my research I find that there are a few reasons as to why the minimum wage issue is a bad idea. Minimum wage may have an unfavorable effect on new candidates to the workforce. Those who do not have enough to too little work experience may be influenced to work for less than the existing rate.…

    • 666 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Although the United States government promises its people that they live in a true democratic country, the United States is definitely not a democracy. A democracy by definition is “the government by people.” However, the United States looks as if it is a constitutional republic, rather than democracy. A constitutional republic is “a state in which the head of state or officials are representatives of the people.” The United States is a country run by the government officials, not the people, the government is taking away the rights that the U.S. Constitution promises its people, and not all citizens are treated equally or given the same rights. Therefore, the United States is far from a democracy at this time.…

    • 810 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Capitalism And Socialism

    • 393 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Capitalism and socialism are economic systems that both began in 1750. In my opinion, capitalism is a better system because it includes private property and capital accumulations. Capitalism affords economic freedom. It also affords consumer choice and economic growth. Capitalism and socialism are somewhat opposing schools of thought in economics. The central arguments in the socialism vs. capitalism debate are about economic equality and the role of government.…

    • 393 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Minimum wage had been a huge problem in today's world. It affecting about 1.3 millions people a year and continues to grow. People been trying to raise minimum wage forever. Minimum wage is affecting the lower and middle class the most. Some people don't notice what's really happening because they're blinded to how much they really should be making. Inflation also has to do with minimum wage. We think we get paid more, but in reality we don’t. Raising minimum wage also means prices for good go up as well. Basically we still at the same place we started. That's how they get us, by making us think we are making more and were not.…

    • 462 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The government, a republic under democratic ideals, is supposed to represent the people. Yet what is truly being represented, shown in the policies in tax reductions and various other policies, is the rich. Just one of the top 10 most richest people in America have more money than 300 thousand of the lowest people put together. People are so distracted by other things, like racism, the gay marriage laws that were passed, and all these social issues that they don’t see one of the main problems at hand. Because of this “U.S government policies reflect the desires of the wealthy and interest groups more than the average citizen, according to researchers at Princeton University and Northwestern University” (Bondoli 1). Why? A democratic society has the most power in the people as a whole.…

    • 630 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Minimum Wage In America

    • 997 Words
    • 4 Pages

    With a higher minimum wage, parents will then finally have time to be with their family. Which will prevent the children turning violent due to their parent/s being more involved in their life. If people worked in a higher minimum wage then they’ll probably be more encouraged to go school. With their sustainable paycheck, they’ll most likely have more time and the money to earn a degree so they can be prone to better opportunities. In addition, the economy will rise with a higher minimum wage. Most people think that a raise in people’s paycheck will only cause inflation or the economy will go down, when in fact, that is not true. In the report “Working Poor in America,” by Oxfam America stated, “Effects on prices are also minimal, as one study found that household food costs would rise by no more than a dime a day.” While people worry about inflation rising really high, the truth is that there will only be a minor rise of cost in food. Which should not really be a problem, since a higher minimum wage should be able to support you enough. As a further matter, the economy will rise because people won’t need to rely on government programs as much. With a higher minimum wage, people will be able to pay their bills and necessities, without having to need as much help from the government. Taxpayers…

    • 997 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Federal Minimum Wage

    • 861 Words
    • 4 Pages

    While increasing the federal minimum wage has good effects on the economy and workforce welfare, it is shown with its fair share of disadvantages. For example, it will lead into reduction in job opportunities, and this is further explained in the online article, "Background Of The Issue - Minimum Wage,” whereby it states that in the first 25% minimum wage that happened in 1938 there was losses of jobs. (Minimum Wage - Procon.Org). Moreover, in reality around 1.3 million jobs will be lost in the event that the minimum wage is increased up to…

    • 861 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A Political System has two segments, Democracy and Totalitarianism. Democracy is usually practiced in Western and Northern European countries. It gives the citizens the freedom and the rights to vote for multiple political officials, in which they feel that would be an advocate and help serve the needs of the people, the states, and the country. Some of these officials are voting in twice by the citizens, but there are time frames and limitations that a Politian can hold his or her sit in office. This gives other potential politics an opportunity to run for office in government, According to Doh and Luthans (2012) “Essentially, every citizen should be involved in decision-making processes. The representative government ensures individual freedom since anyone who is eligible may have a voice in the choices made (Doh & Luthans, p. 40).” Countries that practice such political system are allowing the voices of their citizens to be heard and made. However, Totalitarianism is indifferent from Democracy. The political system is ran…

    • 426 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays