Brokered, Daniel. “Socialism: Why it’s back and what it means”. Foreign Policy, 2020.
The basics of socialism
A growing number of current adults, specifically college-aged students are showing support for socialism without fully understanding the realities of the economic system. Dr. Ben Powell defines socialism as a “collective ownership/control of the means of production” which takes away the private ownership that is a foundation for entrepreneurship in a capitalistic country like ours. He claims that we need this trade and exchange for a successful economy. I agree with the points he makes about no country being perfectly capitalist or socialist. All countries have aspects of both no matter how they label themselves.
Venezuela
Many people would point to Venezuela as a successful socialist country. Dr. Ben Powell learned from the democratic socialism in Venezuela that economies in this condition can't afford to feed themselves. They can't afford to import the food, resulting in this problem. Some citizens were even selling their hair to try to solve this problem. He makes the claim that “In order to maintain democratic freedoms you need a large measure of economic freedom”. Losing these democratic freedoms leads to a loss of political freedoms that are the backbone of a society such as ours in the United States. The Soviet Union and China are other examples of this and how it can quickly turn into totalitarianism as a consequence. A point that I strongly agree with is that “once you centralize economic power you’ve also centralized your ability to punish opposition”. Necessities like aid and business are then used as a tool for political power.
Cuba
Cuba has been stagnant in their economic state for a while. When taking a closer look while staying at hotels, which are government-owned, the realities show the run-down and ill-cared-for buildings. Air B N B type of businesses, while still not privately run, are run by relatives of Cubans in Florida. This gives entrepreneurs incentives because of private control. Quality and variety go out the door with state ownership. Without private businesses, there are no incentives for businesses to have customers. This is shown by the lack of signs and advertisements throughout commercial areas. This is why I believe more supporters of socialism in capitalistic countries should look at economic realities like these in other countries to realize the benefits that capitalism provides with incentives for private business. Although some would argue that socialism creates economic fairness, specifically for low-income or impoverished people, I believe that this lessens the incentive for success and wealth gain. Yes, people with lower incomes have more equality with individuals with higher incomes but this is because of the lack of choices offered to anyone with the money to make them. Capitalism offers benefits to people with more wealth, which in turn gives the incentive to gain wealth and put that wealth back into the economy to further society as a whole.
Korea
Dr. Ben Powell visited South Korea and China by the edge of North Korea and was shocked to see in person the discontinuity displayed by the darkness across the country. The economic state of North Korea vs. South Korea is apparent in their 2,000 vs 40,000 per capita income. This was caused by the split between socialist North Korea and capitalist South Korea after the Korean War.
China
The majority of the things coming out of China are a result of private sector entrepreneurs. However, the communist government still challenges and imprisons those who promote capitalistic ideas and agendas. They are considered mostly a capitalist country even though technically under a communist government and this has brought many people out of poverty. Economic freedoms have caused mass migrations and higher average incomes. This furthers the point of how capitalism gives back to the economy and why freedoms are successful for society as a whole.
Republic of Georgia
The new republic of Georgia is considered a new capitalistic success story. In 2004, radical reform began with a free-market economy including a flat tax of 13% (no progressive tax) and transparent privatization with its revenue going to the state. This encouraged the entrepreneurial process and was a massive reduction in government and government programs full of corruption. As a result, economic freedom became one of the world’s top 10. As an argument for capitalism, the republic of Georgia displays that economic freedom and less government restriction increase revenue and exports. This mirrors the possible outcomes for other countries.
Young Socialists
Many socialist-identifying individuals bring up inequality, immobility, or minority/immigrant rights. To any of these, government intervention is not the answer. I believe that instead, recognizing injustices and finding real solutions versus the system of collectivism will lead to improvements. This leads us to the question of what these solutions are. Time spent pondering these instead of the socialist narrative will result in effective regulations.
