Preview

How the Central Problems are Solved in a Capitalist Economy?

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
490 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
How the Central Problems are Solved in a Capitalist Economy?
How the central problems are solved in a capitalist economy?

A capitalist economy has no central planning authority to decide as to what, how and for whom to produce and in the absence of any central authority; it looks like a miracle as to how such an economy functions. There can be confusion and chaos in the country when the producers choose to produce cloth and workers choose to work for the furniture industry, while the consumers are in need of cars.

In order to solve the central problems, such an economy uses the impersonal forces of the market demand and supply or the price mechanism. Such an economy uses the impersonal forces of the market demand and supply or the price mechanism to solve its central problems.

Deciding what to produce?
The aim of an entrepreneur is to earn as much profits as possible. This prompts the businessmen to compete with one another in order to produce those goods which consumers are willing to buy. Thus, if consumers want more cars, there will be an increase in the demand for cars consequent upon which the prices of cars are bound to increase. A rise in the sale of cars; cost remaining the same, will increase the profits for the entrepreneur. This induces the producers to go in for more production. In other words, when the consumers’ demand for any product decreases, the price would fall thereby reducing the profits for the entrepreneur and the production also goes down.

Deciding how to produce?
An entrepreneur produces his goods with that technique of production which renders his cost of production minimum. If labor is relatively cheap he will use labor intensive method and if labor is relatively costlier he will use capital intensive method. Thus, the relative prices of factors of production help in deciding as to how to produce.

Deciding for whom to produce?
Goods and services in a capitalist economy will be produced for those who have the capacity to buy. The buying capacity of an individual depends upon

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Eco Study Question

    • 3044 Words
    • 13 Pages

    The economic principle that producers are willing to produce more output when price is high is depicted by the:…

    • 3044 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    2.3 - The value of a manufactured product is mostly determined by supply and demand. A sense of balance is between what people are set to supply at a cost, and the community asking price to pay for the manufactured product. When the value increases the amount which will be distributed increases also. It is important to understand the market. If traders have reason to believe a possible shortage of a product should arise they may increase the cost of the product. The converse is also correct. When the market predicts a little or close to an oversupply the cost will fall almost immediately. The shift of the demand curve is another change in demand. The quantity demanded at any prices will happen because of the shift. Companies that supply…

    • 529 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Capitalism is an economic system where the government is hands off of businesses and people work to make profit, it is based off of private ownership. In document one of the DBQ, it states that capitalism is "based on the private ownership of capital, and on the production of goods and services for profit" (document 1). Even though it may sound like a good idea, many people were unhappy with capitalism because on lthe people who took the risk to invest money were wealthy and everyone else, for the most part was poor. The solution to these problems were new ideas of economic systems. Socialism was one idea. Socialism was an economic system where there is eocnomic equality and the government owns big industries. Documemnt four of the…

    • 277 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    econ1000 testbank ch01

    • 11901 Words
    • 73 Pages

    D) the study of how individuals, businesses, governments, and entire societies make choices as they cope with scarcity and the incentives that influence and reconcile those choices…

    • 11901 Words
    • 73 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    ECO/561

    • 297 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Every economy encounters economizing problem like how to determine what goods to produced, how the goods are produced, who consume them, how supply and demand of goods are managed, and how technology is used to promote the progress of economy resources. Fundamentally, two types of economic system are used to combat the economizing problem. An economic system where government owns most resources, controls and coordinates most economic activity is the command or communism economy system. Secondly, the capitalism or market system is where individuals in a given society own resources, capital, and the autonomy to engage in economic activity.…

    • 297 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Capitalism is a system that forces the individual to play by its rules. These events or public changes to society are challenges that either help or hinder a group, a society or the individual. Events reinforce a person’s survival instincts and the capitalist is always in the middle trying to figure out how they could make money off of these events/challenges. Capitalism existence is inevitable but we allow it to further take advantages of the struggling and the greedy, the spirt of capitalism. This has been emphasized and drilled into the individual to believe they have a “duty” to this capitalism- to be rich and find riches at all cost. “…many diffuse, discrete, more or less present and occasionally absent concrete individual phenomena, which are arranged according to those one-sidedly emphasized viewpoints into a unified analytical construct (p.274).” This is simply one sided, in which it enriches more of the 1 percent. This is where the “ideal types” become the influenced objective causes of actions. We work harder for the idea that we will rise only to indebt ourselves more and to…

    • 781 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hernando DeSoto argues that it’s necessary for a capitalist economy to produce wealth by “the force that raises the productivity of labor and creates the wealth of nation” (DeSoto pg.5). In this text he explains, to produce the wealth of a capitalist economy, the nation would have to be productive on the labor that is being produced. It is also referring on how the nation can be productive on how the actions of the labor is being done. This allows the capitalist economy to rise for the nation, which produces the wealth for people. This would be the argument that the capitalist economy would produce wealth, by the owners of companies; would have to compete against each other, in the market on who would produce the best product and at good prices.…

    • 258 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    c. For whom to produce? 5. a. land: natural resources not created by humans; b. capital: the tools, equipment, machinery, and factories used in the production of goods and services; c. labor: people with all their efforts, abilities, and skills; d. entrepreneur: a risk-taker in search of profits who does something new with existing resources Chapter 1–3 1. trade-offs 2.…

    • 8248 Words
    • 33 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Open competition and privately owned property are the key elements of , whereas, public ownership by the government and the elimination of competition to the state are key elements of . a. b. c. d. 2. That the U.S. capitalistic economy limits some areas of competition, and China’s socialist economy allows some free enterprise, indicates that a. b. c. d. 3. capitalism does not work. socialism does not work.…

    • 668 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In the capitalist economy people are free to own property which is known as ‘capital’ and they get to choose what they want to do with their property and they also get to choose how to employ labor for their property. According to unit 3 there are two frontiers for this. The two frontiers are free labor and…

    • 449 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Socialism -vs- Capitalism

    • 366 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Socialism vs. Capitalism Samantha Conti University of Phoenix Comm. /105 –January 12, 2008 The disadvantages of Communism are that people have to be willing to work for the greater good of society, not just themselves. They will not receive all the fruits of their labor, no matter hoe much you work you will always get the same salary. Why would you want to work so hard if you were going to make the same amount of money? Human rights abuses, lack of incentives for progress for individuals which results in a slow progressing society as a whole. Under Socialist theory the individual’s needs are determined and satisfied collectively. Dissent and venturing out on one’s own are not option. Everyone is an employee and tenant of the state. In Communism people have little rights, everything is run by the government resulting in enormous economic failures, including famine, militarism and propaganda to cover-up the systematic failures of the government. Capitalism was developed in Europe in the 19th and early 20th century. Capitalism is an economic arrangement in which people have the individual liberty and the right to own property and to do what they wish with their property as long as it does not harm anyone else. These freedoms set Capitalism apart from all other kinds of economic arrangements. The Capitalist system is based in giving each individual the freedom to better (or worse him or herself). Capitalism signifies means of production. The heart of Capitalism is the producer’s right to make what he wants and the consumer’s right to choose what to buy. A free market economy and free enterprise. The major benefit of Capitalism is private property, the concept that people have the right and privilege to control their possessions as they wish. In a Capitalism economy the role of the government reflect the desire and goals of its citizens. Capitalism societies suffer from poverty too, but in a different way as there is a vastly unequal distribution of wealth (a few…

    • 366 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Race Class Gender

    • 435 Words
    • 2 Pages

    2. There are several factors that contribute to the development of capitalism, accumulation of capital as a result of increased trade and the opening up of the new world. Freed labour power, raw materials, means of production and a new market became available to capitalist. Systems of trade protection and taxes advanced the power of capitalism. There are 3 stages of capitalism: 1. Cooperation is when large numbers of laborers work together productively and efficiently to produce a given product under the mastership of one capitalist (187) 2. Manufacture is a detailed division of labor among workers who have been brought together to cooperate in the production of the capitalists products (187). L No one performs all tasks and each has a specific task to perform (187). 3. Modern (machine) industry is the development and use of machines and replaces…

    • 435 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Economics plays a role in every person’s day-to-day life. One aspect that it plays apart in is decision making. For every decision that is made economics is applied. There are principles that relate to decision making. First is that for every decision made there are tradeoffs, to get one thing something else is given up. The next principle is for every decision made there is a cost. The cost is what was given up. The third principle is people think rationally and rational people think on the margin, meaning that the decision is not made unless the marginal benefit exceeds the marginal cost. The final principle is that people respond to incentives. Behavior changes when cost or benefits change. These principles explain how the economy functions as a whole. Since resources are scarce people have to make decisions based on benefiting themselves on how to spend their time and money. To make rational decisions people must interact with the environment and other decision makers. These interactions lead to the best allocation of resources. When people interact with one another they make trade for resources when the benefit is mutual. For example buying a soda the buyer is thirsty and enjoys soda so he or she will benefit from the soda, and the vender will benefit from the money for the soda so the trade has been made. These interactions are affected by the economy system present. In a centrally planned economy central authorities make decisions for what would be the best use of their goods and resources. The state can set prices of goods and determine how much to produce. Therefore, decisions are not voluntary. Decisions are voluntary in a market economy where the pricing of goods and services are guided solely by the interactions of a country’s citizens and businesses. In a mixed economy system where there is a variety of public and private control decisions are voluntary as well.…

    • 671 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Economy Letter

    • 564 Words
    • 3 Pages

    4. Forces production so people with money who live worldwide can purchase goods, which causes rapid production.…

    • 564 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    THE PRODUCTION PROCESS

    • 620 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Normal rate of return : A rate of return on capital that is just sufficient to keep owners and investors satisfied. For relatively risk-free firms, it should be nearly the same as the interest rate on risk-free government bonds.…

    • 620 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays