Capitalism Vs Socialism

Socialism and Capitalism were two of the largest economic systems in Europe. They emerged from 1750 to 1914 and are still relevant ideas today. These economic systems were largely a response to the industrial revolution, changing countries politically and economically. Countries would implement the ideas of either socialism or capitalism based on preference and perspective because the ideas each have their own benefits and problems. Socialism is the economical idea where the government controls the market place and the regulation of prices and goods as well as some services. Socialism provides the people of the country with equality, keeping the overall wealth of the nation substantially high where no one is in poverty. Another benefit is
that many socialist countries provided its people with healthcare as well as unemployment pensions, work leaves, generous vacation days, and pensions for the elderly. According to the Communist Manifesto and Principles of Communism by Karl Marx and Friederich Engels, socialism promoted working together and eliminate competition. However Socialism has its downsides. People in the socialist economy do not get as much freedom as they would get in a capitalist economy. People in a socialist economy are more required to work certain jobs instead of the profession they are interested in. Business owners also do not progress in profits as much as they could have in capitalist societies. There was no private property, meaning everything was controlled by the government. The country would also have some difficulties providing all the benefits because of the lack of total profits they could get.
Capitalism, on the other hand, is almost the exact opposite of socialism.
The government rarely interferes with the economy and instead lets the people of the country have an open market where the businesses can choose how to price their goods. In the market, the people, more specifically the consumers, influence what it sold and for how much. It is called supply and demand. The company supplies the goods and the consumers choose whether they like it or not. If they do, they demand more and the company should supply more. If they do not like it, the company loses the need to supply more. This process leads to huge profits and growths for individual companies. According to The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, “the most advantageous method in which a landed nation can raise up artificers (craftsmen), manufacturers, and merchants of its own, is to grant the most perfect freedom of trade,” meaning that it is the best way for an economy to really grow. Capitalism also allows for individuals to have the freedom to work as whatever profession they choose as long as they work hard enough for it. However in a total capitalist economy, there would be no pensions, and compensations, and healthcare is only given to the people who could afford it. This lead to bad conditions for the people who could not afford it. There would also be no government owned schools, roads, or buildings, making everything private. In this society, the rich got to capitalize on the fact that they had freedom to raise the prices and charge the consumers more, so they did. The rich got richer and the poor got
poorer. Mixes of the two were the most optimal where the pros of both existed and the cons of both were decreased. Countries could obtain benefits from both from combining capitalism and socialism, for example a growing economy with freedom of profession while still maintaining public roads and buildings as well as having good healthcare and working benefits. In the end, countries chose their policies based on what they needed or what they thought was best for the people, equality or freedom. It is a choice on perspective.