The Pros And Cons Of Communism

Throughout modern history, there have been two major economic systems, whether defined by name or not: communism and capitalism. Their ideologies are inherently contrasting, and often hostile to one another. Throughout the hostilities, slander and governmental propaganda has become widespread creating fear and hate towards communism, although in some communist countries the same can be claimed. In this document, I will juxtapose these ideological differences and hopefully disperse any misconceptions you may have of the two systems.

To understand communism, one must fully comprehend the meaning and inner-workings of capitalism. Capitalism is a system based on free trade, that is, one or a collective of private citizens doing business with another individual or collective of private citizens. The means of production are owned by individuals instead of the state.

Money is effectively used as work credits. In theory, the more work you do, the more you are able to trade. Id est, one who works for one day won't have the ability to trade as much as one who works for six days. This, in theory, assures that those who contribute to the community are able to have more luxuries than those who do not.

In this system, people are free to create businesses and
After unregulated capitalism had demonstrated to be oppressive, environmentally harmful, and plutocratic, perpetuating a cycle of poverty and the uneven distribution of wealth, Western nations adopted socialist programs such as public schools, welfare programs, subsidized healthcare, and Social Security to counter this. The market, though more heavily regulated, is still relatively free. One might characterize it as a mixed economy (Case/Fair Chapter 22) which many governments use to promote both the advance of industry and social