Capitalism vs Socialism, which system is preferable?

JulesKorngold

Argument Topic: It Depends

Both capitalism and socialism have their advantages and disadvantages, and the debate over which system is better continues. There is no easy answer, as the choice of an economic system depends on various factors such as historical, cultural, and social contexts. Ultimately, the most appropriate economic system for a given society depends on its unique needs, values, and goals.

John_C_87

@JulesKorngold

It is not the question that should be asking the American grievance is United State Constitutional or just unconstitutional by demcratic defualt. By the way anyone who has ever said they chose unconstitutional as a method of establishing states of the union to right should be made aware they are saying nothing more than they are in search of any connection to made with law including illegal ones. Not an admission to crime but reasnalbe cause to claim openly more perfect states of the union when found. United State Constitutional Right is saying there is a minimum standard of continual search for the more perfect union even if it is found by disobey executive orders on legal grounds of validity and reasonable judgment, even if not ever proven in a court of law as an illegal law for laws are not proven to be guilty or innocent so they literally hold no presumption of innocence like a person. 

Your argument is a ruse to lie openly forced self-incrimination taking place in the political democratic process.

John_C_87

Socialism is a type of Capitalism. There is not argument of debate about which is better the only difference is the number of people who are placed in harm’s way regarding the daily, weekly, monthly and yearly legal operations of a company. By chance have you or anyone you know swore-in to office a principle or educational offical that the information that they are to provide is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but truth?

If so, now is the time to being it forward as a common defense towards the general welfare.

MineSubCraftStarved

@Galvanise

the private market functions much like a collective organization,

No, it doesn't, because by definition, a private market functions by the use of individuals making their own decisions. Rather than some collective body coercively enforcing their wishes onto others in the market.
The private market doesn't operate as a collective precisely because it has differing competing viewpoints. Were it to be a collective, there would be no competition, and no individual choice, however this is not the case.

so the government also represents the interests of capital. 

Which is why governments tend to lean and develop into authoritarian and command-based economies right?
Very capitalistic...

MayCaesar

I think that any system that puts the idea of "collective good" of some shape or form as the cornerstone of its moral framework is deeply anti-human. It sees humans not as independent individuals pursuing their personal passions, but as drones in the societal hive serving some function that is deemed more important than their self-interest. Socialism is one such system, but there are many other systems or ideologies conforming with this framework, including Christianity - which, somewhat ironically, in the US has traditionally been associated with individualism. You are not much of an individual if, at the end of your life cycle, a sky wizard with a beard decides how you are going to spend the rest of eternity.

Capitalism, in its pure form, presupposes the opposite of that idea. Capitalism is a system of voluntary interactions between individuals, economical and beyond. Under capitalism, if person A does not want to interact with person B, then he is free to turn around and walk away. This allows everyone to choose their own fate, to choose how to live their lives and who to interact with and how - provided they respect the others' ability to do the same.

It is my firm belief that everyone who claims to want socialism actually wants capitalism, they just do not appreciate what fundamentally either of them means. Murray Rothbard suggested an mental experiment in which every citizen is implanted with a chip controlled by the government: absolutely everyone, no matter what their political leaning is, psychologically experiences the feeling of absolute horror when thinking about such a world. Humans fundamentally are individuals that want to pursue their own interest, and while there certainly is a lot of benefit to creating collective systems which multiply the efforts of individuals, there is a major difference between people creating those systems voluntarily - and having them imposed on them by force.

There are very few people who, having visited the US of 1980 and the USSR of 1980, would prefer living in the latter. The most devoted socialists and communists, when push comes to shovel, choose (relative) capitalism. And however often in abstract philosophical conversations they will mention that "true socialism has never been allowed to flourish", in practice they act as if it was not the case. At the very least, nothing stops anyone from creating a local (voluntary) commune operating by socialist principles. Few people try such projects, and every time such a project was tried, it resulted in a complete and utter disaster, even without any external intervention. People may philosophize about these things, but their bodies and brains betray their true preference.

just_sayin

There are several real word examples that show that capitalism is better.  Take North and South Korea.  Before the end of the war it was one nation with relatively equal economic outcomes.  After the war one is capitalist - South Korea, and the other a socialist country - North Korea.  From a pure economic impact South Korea wins.  Health wise - South Korea wins, as much of North Korea's population is starving.  If we are looking at freedoms - then South Korea wins that one also.  Seems pretty clear which one wins here.

Another real world example is with Cuba and its capitalist neighboring countries.  Cuba was one of the richest Caribbean countries before the revolution.  Now it is one of the poorest.  Every day Cuba has rolling brown outs for hours because the government can't literally keep the lights on.  The largest contributor to the Cuban economy is remittances from the US.  The corruption in Cuba is internationally known.  Buildings constantly collapse and unemployment is high.  Goods are scarce, and can often only be found on the black market.  Yet, many other Caribbean countries who were not as well off as Cuba before the revolution have larger economies, even though they have only a fraction of the land and natural resources Cuba has.