With the upcoming election, a lot of people are asking themselves, “What is socialism?” Socialism is like if communism and capitalism had a baby. It is a lesser form of communism where it allows some free market trade but not so much that fortune 500 corporations can take advantage of workers.
Socialism tries to implement complete and total equality for everyone regardless of race, gender, religion, and economic class. Even though many may say America is socialist enough, America is still an extremely capitalist society. America is all for providing those who get on top to stay on top. A good example of this is “Trickle-Down Economics”, or Reaganomics, as it was coined in 1981. The basic theory behind it is that the rich and wealthy gain money and the money they make rolls back into the economy to make jobs. Sounds good right?
Wrong. This would be a good idea IF the people with the money didn’t horde their money in off-shore bank accounts where the money can’t get taxed. These are the same people that complain that the job market is failing because there aren’t enough American jobs but they ship jobs off to China and other foreign countries that don’t have a minimum wage.
A lot of the GOP says government is bad, but really, is it? Thanks to Obamacare, up to 15.9 million men, women, and children who fall below the poverty line now have medical coverage. Since Obama became president, adding more government, the economy has gone up about 3%. Now that doesn’t sound like a lot, but keep in mind, after Bush left office, the United States economy fell 3%. So while Obama has been in office, our economy has increased to about a total of 6%. If government was so bad, wouldn’t our economy have fallen?
You have to understand the one main reason behind every GOP statement is money. They live, breathe, and eat money. When you look at the programs they advocate, they benefit the rich and abuse the poor. They can do this thanks to capitalism. Capitalism basically says, “As long as you can legally make money, go for it. After all, you earned it!” Nowhere in any other advanced nation like the United States do people face the everyday struggles that the middle class worker have to face. Someone that works 40 hours a week should be able to afford healthcare, a house, and be able to send their children to college. They should NOT have to work 2-3 jobs, be scared to get sick, and have to have their children take out college loans just to drown in student debt.
It doesn’t make any sense not to adopt a socialist society; in Europe, they have been thriving off of it. “But look how small those countries are compared to ours!” Okay, you are right in the fact that they are small. All that means is that it has provided fruitful in the small scale and the United States could adopt it, however it would take time.
When looking at socialist European countries, take a look at mortality rate, GDP per capita, and Human Development Index and compare these answers to America. According to caps.com, life expectancy at birth is the highest for Japan, Iceland, and Switzerland. The United States isn’t even in the top 20. GPD per Capita, Liechtenstein, Qatar, and Luxembourg are the top 3 leaders with the United States coming in at number 9. Finally, in the Human Development Index, Norway, Australia, and Iceland are the top 3. The United States is a far 13.
When taking a look at the top 3 countries of all these lists, you notice one common thing: they are mostly socialist countries. If capitalism worked so great, why wouldn’t the United States be number 1 for all of them? The answer is simple. Capitalism abuses the working sector and benefits only the rich whereas socialism benefits everyone in the long run.
So remember, with the upcoming election coming up, who do want? Another money hungry capitalist, or a socialist who wants to make everyone financially equal?
