Socialism Pros and Cons
79Below are the essential for and against arguments that are made by people in regard to socialism, which I have put in the form of a socialism pros and cons list. The modern concept of socialism has been around since the nineteenth century. People define it as either a way of organizing society in which the means of production (industry etc.) are commonly, or cooperatively controlled by everyone, or sometimes it is used more generally to mean a political system that generates a more equal society with less divergence in wealth and income and with more equal power relationships between people such as workers and employers.
Socialism’s popularity generally waned towards the end of the 20th Century and in some ways its history has paralleled that of its more extreme relation, communism. However, there has recently been a renewed interest in socialism, partly because of a perception by some people that income and wealth gaps have become too big, and partly due to deep concerns over the apparent inbuilt instability of unregulated capitalism, especially since the international financial crises that began in 2008.
Socialism Pros
Society is more equal in terms of wealth and earnings. Progressive taxes can be used to reduce income gaps between the richest and poorest and the money raised can also be used to create jobs and training for the poor and the unemployed.
Workers have greater rights, giving them more control over their lives.
Universal access to services like healthcare and education.
A more controlled economy with less chance of the cycle of boom and bust that seems to always come with unregulated capitalism.
Problems such as poverty and homelessness can be reduced or wiped out.
Socialism Cons
An increase in the power of the state and big government.
More bureaucracy. Socialism often leads to means more political committees and groups to decide how things will be run. Without profits to be made, the incentive to make processes and services quick, efficient and relevant disappears, leading to poor goods and services for general public.
Less individuality and personal choice, especially in terms of products and services.
Higher taxes for everyone and the subsequent increase in government spending means more waste and inefficiency.
A lack of innovation. There is less, or no financial incentive for inventive people to develop new products and services, or for businessmen and entrepreneurs to set up new companies.
Problems with low motivation. If someone’s life is comfy in an undemanding job, there is less incentive for them to seek to better themselves by working towards a more demanding but better paid job, or through them setting up their own business.
Economic problems. Socialist economies often tend to be less dynamic and this can lead to stagnation. Alternatively, irresponsible public spending can lead to runaway inflation.
Increased workers’ rights can lead to more labor disputes, spiraling wage increases that lead to high inflation, more unemployment because employers are less likely to hire, and ineffective workers being kept on in jobs, because it is difficult for employers to fire them.
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I see no pros in Socialism. There is no redistribution of wealth, there is a dissolution of wealth. The only wealth in socialism is in the hands of the leadership. That wealth will also disappear soon because there is no way to produce more because progess is discouraged. It could help with the so called "overpopulation" disscussed in another hub, in that any disagreement with the leadership leads to death. Stalin made a huge contribution to the problem of "overpopulation". Is this the type of life or death that these protesters want? There are still vacancies created by Stalin and leaders of other socialist countries. Feel free to fill them.
@Hubertsvoice We know at least that free markets always win.. That is: after a democracy comes the "Wealth-redistribution" period of Socialism and only when the newly redistributed wealth is spent and the whole period of "equality" has passed... only then the government can shrink again and we can start a period of growth.
I of course hope and wish my words never come to fruition but those are normal cycles of economic life...
BTW I was born in USSR right before it went down. :)
Are you in America now? About the socialism and democracy answer are you saying that after the Democrats give everything away the Republicans need to come in and build it all back up again?
Yes sir I'm right here in Downtown Los Angeles. People carrying signs and handing out flyers all around here nowadays. In essence demanding socialism.
No I don't think Democrats give anything away and same goes for the Republicans. In my humble opinion it's just a big fat mess in congress and it's getting worse. "More politicians, more regulations!"
I agree that there's an imbalance in wealth but re-distribution of wealth is going to kill this goose (country) that lays these golden eggs. How about instead of redistributing the already accumulated wealth we stop bailing out the losers? Stop hacking away at the fruits and go for those roots!
No one's protesting against that for some reason and the FED is going at it... Another 400billion are on a silver platter waiting to be distributed. :)
Anyhow, socialism is not the answer!
Stopping bailouts would be a good start, I agree. I also agree that socialism would not be the answer. I also think that whenever people decide to protest something perhaps they should check the background of the group or individual beginning the protest, not just pick up a sign and set to protesting. These people who are trying to condemn and close down Wall Street are doing so at the suggestion of a couple of Canadians and groups like Anonymous. People who want to stir up trouble in other countries but are scared to let people know who they are. Sounds a lot like a group of masked men who in the late nineteenth and eary 20th centuries who murdered a great deal of innocent people who were guilty of being different. If people don't have time to work, at least have time find out who you are trying to destroy your own country for. When people start protesting and carrying out the will of people who are so ashamed of their own faces that they won't even show them in support of their own causes, they are not trying to help solve our nations difficulties they are just trying to fill their day with some kind of activity.
Well said Mr.Hubertsvoice. I don't remember who said it but quote "There are thousands of people preparred to die for truth, but there are few that are willing to study what truth is"
![The American Dream: Conservative View I: Tax Policy Part 2 - Taxing the Wealthy. [104c*]](http://s1.hubimg.com/u/5808540_50.jpg "The American Dream: Conservative View I: Tax Policy Part 2 - Taxing the Wealthy. [104c*]")
Pacific Transfer 6 months ago
So I guess that's what Occupy Wall Street is all about....