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Socialism emerged from the French Revolution
as a powerful political force to serve the dispossessed.
It was relegated to the margins in the United States,
although economic conditions sometimes brought it to center court.
Economic Systems Solve the Scarcity Problem
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Democratic Socialism
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Origin Stories
Socialism is a moral movement of intellectuals who loathed inequality, despised the intellectual shallowness of the rich, and sought to bring life to their visions.
Capitalism is not especially
intellectual or
moral, it is a reality of the industrial revolution.
Socialist imagined a socialist utopian system.
Socialist
believe political equality requires wealth equality.
Production is for the common good.
Private control of
investment flawed capitalism
as wealth creation went to the rich who investing for
their highest capital return. This meant the low return of social
goods were neglected. Socialist believe this limited
human possibilities.
The public, using a democratic process, controls the state. States should determine investment goals and resulting strategy. This is accomplished by controlling property and investment capital. Production will be for the common good and not for state officials.
Unlike socialism, capitalist did not contemplate
the virtue of wealth or the effects of industrialism on
the human condition.
Not an ideology, intellectuals did not defend it until
the 20th century
when Hayek and Friedman, among others, sought did so.
Capitalism explainer Adam Smith wrote “The Wealth of Nations.” It described how individual decisions, driven by self-interest, would culminate in an increased wealth of nations. In “The Theory of Moral Sentiments,” Smith argument that moral development resulted from appropriate management.
Capitalism maximized wealth, it did not limit inequality.
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Basic Characteristics Described by Adam Smith Private property-individuals own resources Freedom of enterprise-own a business Freedom of economic choice-work/not work, spend/not spend Role of self-interest Competitive Market System Laissez-Faire Government let markets operate freely Questionable Degree of Government Involvement a concern |
Capitalists creates wealth for a few,
allowing much suffering.
Reallocation of capital investment to the state
would eases suffering.
Capitalist
investments comes
from diversified investor decisions.
This limits
the consequences and magnitude of poor decisions.
Capital devastation, not annihilation is the worst
possible result.
Protecting the investment process allows recoveries from
devastation
Socialism places confidence
in public control of the state because
they public understands needs, but they are not sensitive to
cost.
The state is an abstraction so decisions are made by
state officials.
Civil servants or elected representatives having no
vested interest,
would
make the good democratically approved public good investments.
Having minimal power and
unbound by
self-interest, they can
take the place of self-interested capitalistic
investors.
Democracy
a difficult fit for Pure Socialism because of the scale
of modern economies makes . It evolves toward a Soviet
direction or toward the oft-cited Swedish model which
allows private investment while transferring tax money
to the state for the public good.
The Soviets
managed most civil servants with terror.
Sweden's
democratic process manages the desire
for increased social benefits with the need to maximize
production resulting from private capital investment.
Diversified Investors
Protects Capital
from making
continuing poor decisions. When inefficiencies occur and
affected industries adjust or lose to new efficient
ones.
Joseph Schumpeter called this “creative
destruction.” This efficiency may generate a rapid,
intense crises which may lead to social unrest, chaos,
and repression.
Will Politics protect top 0.1%
Abolishing Greed and
State
Minimization fantasies aside,
the two systems have more or
less merged.
Capitalists and socialists
both accept private
investment.
Both expect economic growth and more taxes paid.
Both capitalism and social democracy
imposed taxes to cushion crisis dislocations.
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Both Have Unhappy Voters Regardless of system, paying taxes is hated and
Politician differ on taxes and purpose but
fearing anarchy, must balance the system. As a result, modern capitalism Democratic socialism now a Democratic Party consideration. Why? |
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Donald Trump won the votes of our declining industrial workers. The Democrats had mistakenly replaced a New Deal cohort with many cohorts. Their current Democratic Socialist approach to meeting cohort needs will determine their 2020 convention winner. Will the process allow a general election winner. Discussion of socialism indicates a commitment to unspecified radical change. But the massive convergence between French Revolution socialists and capitalism means there is little economic system change available The debate is functionally archaic
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Quarrel between a Federalist and a Republican in the House of Representatives Foreign influence on Domestic Politics
Click to enlarge cartoon. |
