by Robert Laws

Created on: October 22, 2009

Socialism is the opposite of Capitalism. It is a philosophy whereby the State directly intervenes in the ownership and management of production and distribution in an attempt to provide a fairer equality for all people, rather than the capitalist approach of allowing individuals to own and prosper from their innovation and efforts, which tends to cause a larger wealth gap.

No country today is perfectly socialist or capitalist. Countries like China are basically socialist with elements of capitalist thinking and countries like the US are basically capitalist with elements of socialism. It is difficult to state definitively how many socialist ideas have to be adopted by a capitalist country for us to suddenly change our classification of that country from capitalist to socialist, but as healthcare provision is just one of many factors, adopting a socialized medicine system would not in itself automatically make a country a socialist country.

In recent US debates, the definition of 'socialized medicine' has taken on many forms. In its strictest sense, socialized medicine would mean the government would own and run both the funding and provision of healthcare services. However, the term is being used in the US today to refer to the government's involvement just in the payment coverage, and, by some people, to refer just to the provision of a public insurance option to compete with private options.

Depending upon the exact definition you use, you could include the UK, Germany, France, Australia, Canada and Japan, to name a few, as countries with socialized medicine. All of these countries attempt to provide universal health coverage, using a range of different methods, but they are all basically capitalist countries. They have more extensive social programs than the US, but they all encourage private enterprises and individual ownership and they all reward innovation and success. Some of these countries have vocal socialist elements (because, like the US, they permit free speech!), but they are not run as socialist countries.

Most of the aforementioned countries use elements of competition (the capitalist approach) under a broader socialized system. One such example would be allowing patients to select from competing private doctors, but using a single-payer insurance system. Blending the advantages of a free-market system with the practical and moral obligation to keep everyone healthy is a balance that almost all developed countries struggle with. Even the US, with the introduction of Medicare and Medicaid, has accepted that a purely capitalist system to healthcare provision needs State intervention. More recent bipartisan acceptance of the need to cover pre-existing conditions also shows a willingness to accept interference with market forces. Acceptance of this does not make you a socialist and it does not mean capitalism is not still a vital aspect of American life.

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