by Matthew J. Geiger

Created on: May 08, 2009   Last Updated: May 09, 2009

Due to the emergence of a truly global economy and a divergence away from independent lifestyles, those who control the flow of money have far greater influence over the lifestyles of individuals than ever before. Furthermore, a democracy of any form is supposed to empower the people, thus a capitalist system, where private capital feeds the economy, can reinforce the people's power by ensuring government does not use money to override the will and freedoms of its people. Meanwhile, a pure socialist state rewards complacency with stagnation and empowers the heavy hand of corrupt government officials. On the other hand, the shortcomings of capitalism will lead to economic failure if they are not properly addressed as people have a tendency to embrace the comforts of socialism during times of crisis and uncertainty.

Pure socialism involves the very strict control of resources by a government to ensure all citizens equally benefit from the wealth of the nation. Theoretically, a democracy with a pure socialist economic system would further empower the people; however, government inefficiencies, stagnation, and corrupt elements of government would lead to the very opposite result. On principle, a pure socialist state would force out some of the best qualities of humanity, but the practice of pure socialism leads to corruption, the disenfranchisement of the people, and a loss of individuality. Although a cure for poverty can be an alluring theoretical possibility, forms of government, which espouse an economic system based entirely on socialist ideals such as Communism, discourage productivity and create stagnation while only corrupt government officials enjoy the privileges of wealth.

On the other hand, a pure capitalist system can easily create a narrow concentration of wealth that restricts the flow of money and leads to the inevitable collapse of an economy. Considering the US relies heavily on service industries and overconsumption, a broad base of consumers with adequate financial resources is needed to maintain sufficient spending for a healthy, stable economy. Furthermore, a nation without a healthy, stable economy has less opportunity to provide for national security and uphold the freedoms of its citizen. Meanwhile, a people will do little to combat homelessness and severe poverty when a majority is financially secure; however, their tolerance quickly evaporates when they are negatively affected by economic failure, especially when the wealthy have

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>