Economics Essay not by me
Since the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 the ideological battle between "Communist" nations such as the former USSR, and the "Capitalist" nations such as the US has been the primary source of world tension. Economic growth, full employment and price stability are goals that market-oriented economies strive for, but the welfare of a nation's citizens is also important. A dilemma arises because there are different beliefs in the level to which each should be emphasized. Capitalists such as Adam Smith believe that all of these goals can be achieved when the government follows a policy of laissez-faire. Capitalists value individual economic freedom and believe that through the laissez-faire system people will be motivated to seek the maximum rewards (profit) and even those who fail will be provided through job opportunities as a result of a more prosperous nation. As a result of the flourishing economy, government interference (for example, in the form of welfare) will not be needed. Scientific socialists seek economic equality and growth and that they can only be achieved through other means. Karl Marx in his book the Communist Manifesto, said in an unregulated society the rich will become richer and the poor even more poor because wealth and opportunity does not trickle down from the rich. He believed that there needs to be a period of a dictatorship to ensure equality; after that the state can "wither away" because people will see the benefits of cooperation and not competition. There is a third option, to blend the two extremes into what has been called "a middle way." This mixed system seeks to include the best of both capitalism and socialism, the incentive and motivation of capitalism, and the security that socialism provides. In practice most nations have used this ideology but vary greatly on the exact blend between the right and left of the economic spectrum. |