Capitalism vs. Socialism

Summary

Capitalism is an economic system where private ownership of the means of production and land is paramount. That means YOU can be the land owner, the shop keeper, the inventor and creator, and that private decisions and voluntary exchange are the driving factors of the market. Socialism is an economic system where the means of production is owned by the government. Factories and distribution is centrally controlled. Private land ownership is not allowed. Central planning dictates the output of everything from food to healthcare. There is a saying that, “only those who have never lived under it, support socialism.” It is unbelievable that a system that has failed over and over again, and has caused so much suffering, still has followers. It failed in the Soviet Union, Nazi Germany, Mao China, Chavez-Maduro Venezuela, etc. When supporters mention Marx’s vision of a classless society, socialism creates the opposite. It creates two classes: a very select few, high-level government people who have food, money, power, healthcare, and the citizens who have none of these things. As the economist Milton Friedman explained, ‘people will vote with their feet. ‘ Look how people move. From what countries and into what countries. Nobody has marched, in any great numbers, into socialism and communism. Yet those oppressed by it, have tried extensively, and have risked everything to escape and make their way to freedom.