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There are several realities that Communism does not take into account. Communism is an ideal-based system that only works well in the "Land of Happy Fun Dreams of Joyness".

Capitalism is by NO MEANS wonderful, but I can't see how Communism would advance us any. There isn't allot of incentive for advancement.

The most major flaw I see with Communism is the fact that in the technological advances we have did not start happening in fast succession until the advent of Capitalism. This might not necessarily mean that we would stop advancing, but we would definitely slow down.

Think of it this way. If the majority of the people think an idea is not worth merit, then there will be no labor allocated to that idea's purpose. If Henry Ford lived in an Era of Communism, then we would not have the automobile and the technologies it inspired, because most people scoffed at his idea before they saw it in action. We wouldn't have the Space program, because there was only a very small percentage of people that even thought we could get beyond the boundaries of the atmosphere. I could go on with ideas that were scoffed at by the majority of the labor-force of the world, that we wouldn't have if we lived in Communism.

If the laborers were the deciding factor of the world, then many things that are just ideas, would be stuck in the fringes of dream. If we go to "pure" democracy, then I am convinced we will become stagnant.

Those who suffer because of abuses of Capitalism are those who live in a purely Capitalistic society. Especially when our companies take jobs away from us to countries that they can operate in for less. That isn't Capitalism's fault, it is the government's, especially when it comes to taxation policies.

Some people argue the plight of third world countries, and blame it on Capitalism. Third world countries are not in the state that they are in because of capitalism, they are that way because of their lack of resources, education, or in some cases, even beliefs. Yes, they now have a definite disadvantage with a global Capitalism, but their problems started before Capitalism. They weren't advancing any faster before Capitalism than they are now. Because of Capitalism, other countries are given incentives to go and help those with less resources, education, or sufferers of disasters.

Yeah, those countries workforce is taken advantage of by companies looking for cheaper labor, but when you look into it, you see that those regions, where more companies move in to get cheaper labor, start to develop and become more educated. With more education comes more companies, which brings more money, which brings higher pay. With a more educated, wealthier demographic comes the ability to start regulating the labor practices of the employers and employees.

There has to be an institution that can help organize and protect the people. The problem with governments today is that the people fear them when it should be the government politicians fearing the people.

If we began a revolution to put our politicians in place; minimize the governments influence of so many personal affairs; allow the government to regulate corporate abuse like it regulates child abuse; halt government spending on non-government projects; and initiate a "Fair Tax" instead of the Un-Constitutional income tax (this would eliminate tax fraud and evasion, and also cut our probation and jail population expenditures); cease double taxation of everything else; then our economy would be in allot better position.

Then we could go a step further and give incentives for businesses to come to our countries; make public colleges and give incentives for those who keep high scores; disallow welfare for people who are trying to live off it without REAL disabilities; offer incentives (instead of penalties) for people with disabilities to go to work; spay and neuter deadbeat parents, those who abandon their children, or women who use abortion as birth control; allow for public health-care without financially crippling the people that it's supposed to help.

I also feel that basic necessities should be allowed for in Human Rights. Things such as food, water, clothing, shelter, and air should be provided for those who do not have the ability to get these for themselves. I think that is a person qualifies for food assistance, then they should qualify for assistance with these as well. I also believe in a more fair approach to determining who can be eligible for assistance. I think that drug test should be a requirement for determining who is eligible (if a person has money for drugs, that could have been money for necessities).

This last suggestion is VERY IMPORTANT: Give incentives to people for political unbiased education and participation in political functions.

I think incentives instead of penalties are the key to reversing our downward spiral. I feel that there are more people who will do good to get good than there are people who will do good to avoid bad. You know, you catch more flies with honey.

These suggestions alone (I feel) would make Capitalism a much more user friendly system, and yet still allow for a means to exchange goods in a much more fair way than Communism could ever allow. They would in essence make large corporations work for us, and put the fear of the people back into the politicians, and yet keep a stable government that works to protect (not dictate) the people.

These suggestions still would not fix everything, but it would give us a base to start from, and from there we could work to fix other issues that arise.

I could go on, but I have went on quite a bit already. I know first hand the hardships of Capitalism, but I also see the potential it has if we could get the abuses under control and eradicated.

Basically, I would consider a Capitalist/Socialism as the best means of advancement.

There are a number of realities. The first is that capitalism isn't working. It is not sustainable by any means, and at our rate of consumption we'll be done in about half a century. I mean that literally -- the world's resources will be gone. Already more than 2/3rds have vanished, and this has happened in a very short amount of time.
The rate of consumption in north america for each person is many times higher than that of populations that are actually... well, higher. Per capita, north america consumes more stuff than virtually any other major population. This is true of the western world in general, but it is particularly noteworthy here.

Capitalism implies profit over virtually everything. For the sake of profit goods are produced and sold. But there are some more complications. Now we allocate our labour, and use the cheap labour of other nations, and then ship it again to be sold at a different price. This is also true with food. Often we will allocate food production to an impoverished nation and lend aid with the condition of said country reselling their goods to another country. This causes some major problems and renders many countries incapable of providing for their people. It's also highly destructive of culture, and in many ways is similar to colonialism.

Another reality is that the entire capitalist system is structured around fossil fuels, which both pose a serious environmental hazard and are also simply being depleted. Simply put, it's not going last at this rate. It's unrealistic.

Another thing, for the sake of profit, is care. Pharmaceuticals and drug solutions have taken over from traditional and other more holistic medicines. There is immense control over birthing, and health care in general. It is a system that is not based on care per se, but predominately on sales.

Capitalism in its unregulated form is terrifically exploitative, unsustainable and based on nothing except profit. It is not based on providing, but on manufacturing and selling. Often demands themselves are manufactured for the sake of profit (bottled water, anyone?). The reality is that this needs to be regulated. Communism in itself has not worked in its unrefined form either (but honestly it's never been given a fair run). Cuba did an okay job, but all in all the best efforts were made in regions that have been able to implement a sort of socialist democracy.



I don't think rigid ideologies are the solution.
Unregulated capitalism is failing the world. We're destroying the world and each other and it needs to stop. Communism has some good ideas but they need to be refined in order to be implemented. To simply follow a rigid ideology is irresponsible in that it doesn't address the plethora of social issues and environmental issues that are currently present.
We just need to address issues as they come, provide regulation and limitation. More generally we need to provide for people as is necessary.
Also, people need to become more involved in their nation's politics. Dissent is not unpatriotic. One cannot always assume that because people are in power they are going to take responsibility for every issue. They need to be addressed by people.

oh my, i am SO glad i finally took the plunge and read into and asked about Communism and Socialism! biggrin this is by far already the most wonderfully kicked-off debate i have seen take place in my humble little Guild! ^.^ heart

i have to say, i fully agree here. there is simply no denying that capitalism itself is a failing system. it cannot support anyone, and it is based on a competitive greed-system, where everyone fights over what little resources exist until there is nothing left. as i said above, "if everyone hoards what they have for fear of running out,they will inevitably run out. but if everyone shares what little they have, there will always be enough to go around".

i think that the idea of eliminating the concept of private property is overall a good concept, but it needs to be applied in a different way then government micromanaging. that only serves to enslave people to a different system. this is why in my opinion socialism is a series of failed experiments. xd

if we instead base it on the idea of the people owning everything collectively, then we have a basis for a wonderful system of cooperation. and when everyone is cooperating, for the sake of the natural benefits that that brings about simply by virtue of cause-and-effect, we won't have a need for strict governments. a Democracy would be put in place, where the people vote in their Senators and a High Judge, but instead of making laws and handing out benefits and loans, this Senate would be here to make decisions about events that pop up, and how to handle them. restitution for those wronged, housing for immigrants, whether to go to war, etcetera.

storm for you too huh? damn.. seems like the entire east coast got hit. sad my power is out. the tornado hit the ground in a neighboring county.

Capitalism isn't technically a form of government, it is an economic system. The USA is a Republic, and that is a form of government. Communism is an economic system when you are equating it with Socialism (everything belongs to everyone), and a form of government as well. Even in Communism, there would have to be an economic system in place, and Socialism has not proven stable in any testing grounds. As it stands Capitalism has evolved from Mercantilism to be the most stable economic system so far.

I agree that Capitalism is failing us as it stands now. I believe that Capitalism can be tweaked to work for the people, with a very, VERY few socialist principles in place to help and protect people from suffering when they are trying their hardest to stay off of the ground.

As a United States Citizen, I was taught, and it was hammered into my head that our Government was put in place to protect us. I can tell you that I don't feel it protects everyone equally, and I have had very seldom occasion to feel protected. My husband and I were both out of work for 9 months, and we tried hard to find jobs, and we couldn't. We used up our savings, and when we had no more, we went to try for temporary assistance.

It is DAMN hard not to get violent when you see the neighborhood, unemployed, drug dealer pull up to the Social Service Office in a Mercedes; flash his gold-toothed smile as he walks through the door; get approved in 5 minutes for every financial and other aid under the sun; and walk back out to the parking-lot talking on his I-phone; when I leave, they tell me they will see what they can do (for my family of 4; 2 children).

I hear from them 2 weeks later and they tell me that we don't qualify because $800/month unemployment puts us over the limit for any aid but food-stamps, but we will get $140/month towards groceries. Thanks for the groceries, but I don't have the money for gas to go grocery shopping after I pay our mortgage and utilities!

So... I'm sorry for the rant, but our Socialism aspects aren't working either...

I agree with some of Obama's social policies, but he is trying to enact them by making government bigger. I don't agree with that. I also don't like the fact that he throws around executive order (such as the stem cell ordeal he E.O.ed into existence in his first 100 days, after the bill was rejected by both houses in several forms).

The larger the Bureaucracy is, the harder it is for people that legitimately need help to get it (unless they lie like the bad guys, and they won't because that's bad). Yet there are common sense things that can be done to verify that the assistance is going to those people who need it (like mandatory drug tests, and employment searches).

o_O; um... what part of this post was supposed to support a mainly capitalist system? that was a disgusting read, it's the very sick and sad truth that i talk about whenever i can. it just can't work, this bureaucracy is ridiculous!

how does what you say at the top of your post make any sense with the bottom? look, the fact of the matter is, capitalism is NOT at all stable. it's reliant on materials and resources that are quickly depleting, and it's system of using those materials is wastefull as can be. only by sharing everything can we maintain our resources, and therefore our economy.

the only way capitalism could continue to even exist (i won't use the word work, cause it just doesn't) is if the earth were able to regrow oil and trees and fish and fresh water and clean air at a rate at least equal to our consumption of these things. and the fact of the matter is that this is impossible! the only solution is to make a more economic use of these resources! spread the freaking wealth! gonk

i'll be honest, when you talk about how you "as an american citizen, were taught that government is here to protect you, and had it pounded into your head" it sounds like you are describing how you were brainwashed. xp

Yeah, I kinda left off some of my points before I clarified. I too was pretty tired. stare (damn storms)

One of the points I was trying to make was that politically, we are not Capitalist, politically we are Republic (In the USA).

Economically we are Capitalist. Our economy is a Capitalistic economy, and to truly understand why we are in the position we are in, society needs to understand the distinction.

Communism as a political institution (such as Russia and China) is the only governmental set-up that incorporates its economical fixture into its political definition.

Now, the point I was trying to make based on these facts was that it is not the Capitalistic economy that is failing us now, it is the way that our Government is failing us. The people that are in power now are doing their best to wrest government away from the people. If we can fix our Republic, then we can turn Capitalism to the good of the people, very easily.

Capitalism is not reliant on any resources. Capitalism is just the way we exchange goods. Instead of exchanging goods for goods, we set a price for each item, and sell it for currency instead of trading other goods for those items.

There is still a Market for any economic system, Global Capitalism just gives us a foundation to monitor and predict what trends the market will face. If our governments would use this information jointly, then they would be able to avert several problems, or at least buffer the damage, before they occurred. Right now, all our governments are still trying to be top dog.

If we went back to Mercantilism, or even primitive bartering, we would still be using those resources. We just wouldn't have any solid way to track where those resources were going by the time they made it to the end of their journey.

Our Governments and their people are what is going to determine what resources we use or do not use, not our economy. If people would stop using oil, then companies would find something else to sell or go out-of-business. In fact, Capitalism gives us a way to fight back. If we avoid giving currency to things we don't want to thrive, then those businesses suffer.

Even in a Communism, people would need heat, so oil would be used. The harsh and double-edged reality of the fact is this, if everyone had a "right" to what everyone else has, then EVERYONE would get just as much oil as everyone else. That would increase our oil consumption several fold, because everyone would be entitled to it. It would be harder to make a change because even if some people rejected using a resource, there would still be enough of that resource alloted to that person in case they should need it.

... And yes, I wanted to point out the brainwashing that the politicians allow to infiltrate our schools that convinces (or at least attempts to) us early on that we are being protected by our government. It will take people's realization that we are being dominated before we can change anything for the better.

When my husband and I were out of work, it wasn't Capitalism that failed us, because the resources were there for us if the Bureaucracy would have approved them for us. It was the Government who failed us, because they were to hung up on their regulations (and Affirmative Action).

The policies and programs that I really needed are Socialists programs. They are in place to redistribute money, the problem is, they are regulated to be too "fair". That is what Communism attempts, "Fairness". The problem with fair is that everyone has a different definition, and when those definitions get processed through the scope of Government and Bureaucracy, then we end up with something that is useless, bigoted, and the extreme opposite of fair.