Differences between Socialism and Capitalism

How did capitalism arise?

The capitalism it is an economic and social system that emerged at the end of the Middle Ages, when a new social class emerged and became dominant: the bourgeoisie. Unlike the aristocracy (that is, the nobility that ruled at the time), the bourgeoisie was of commoner origin (that is, he did not have “blue blood”) but he owned businesses, shops and, therefore, money.

Eventually, the bourgeoisie controlled the world and overthrew the aristocracy in a series of revolutions (such as the French Revolution of 1789) that demolished the feudal order and brought with them a liberal, democratic and republican society.

In this new society, industrialization had its origin and with it the capitalist system was imposed, which through private ownership of the means of production (such as factories and Business) and the commercialization of the goods produced, generated wealth. In this system, the important thing was no longer the possession of land, as in the Middle Ages, but the holding capital, that is, money to invest in productive initiatives and thus generate more money.

Capitalism and industrialization changed the rural world of the Middle Ages for an urban world in which the former peasants who served the the feudal lords became salaried workers of the bourgeoisie, thus giving rise to the working class, or as Marxism called it, the proletariat.

Capitalism defended the possibility of innovating, investing and financing different enterprises through competition to see which one was better and more profitable. This system assumes that, through offer of the producers and the demand of the consumers, balance and social peace can be achieved. Under this philosophy the modern and contemporary world was built, in which the working class, however, lived and worked in precarious, abusive and cruel conditions.

How did socialism arise?

The socialism It was the product of the reflection of many humanist thinkers who dreamed of a fairer future society, in which there was less inequality between social classes, or that the latter simply did not existed. These aspirations, however, were largely frustrated when industrial capitalism was imposed and it became clear that the new owners of the world, the bourgeoisie, were not going to give up their privileges voluntarily.

Becoming aware of this led to the idea that a new revolution was necessary. Just as the bourgeois overthrew the feudal world to install their own, the proletariat had to do the same with them and build a socialist world, in which no one gets rich from the work of the others. In this context appeared Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, who formulated a philosophical critique to capitalism and unified under the slogans of Marxism the different socialist positions that they existed.

The idea of ​​socialism, then, was to abolish the capitalist world, considered inherently unjust by philosophy. Marxist, since the owners of capital kept the large portion of what was produced by the labor of the workers. Only in this way could progress be made towards a system without social classes: socialism or, as it was later called, communism. Socialism proposed a classless society, in which the common welfare prevailed over human selfishness.

capitalism vs. socialism

The tension between these two models reached its climax in the 20th century, when the entire world was divided between capitalist and socialist countries, in a “Cold War” that lasted almost 50 years. And throughout that time, the strengths and weaknesses of each system became apparent.

The end of the confrontation led to the collapse of the socialist bloc, led by the Union of Republics Soviet Socialists, and the transformation of the capitalist bloc, led by the United States of America. Communism practically disappeared from the planet, and the resulting capitalism was forced to change and satisfy more or less measure the demands of the organized working class, which conquered with blood and sacrifice many of the rights that we take for granted today. seated.

Differences between socialism and capitalism

Some differences between socialism and capitalism are:

• Economy
• • Capitalism: economic freedom. The capitalist philosophy defends the need for economic freedom, that is, it considers that the market must regulate itself through an "invisible hand" that represents the common sense of producers, sellers and consumers. And, therefore, no one should intervene in the course of the economy, since doing so generates distortions with negative consequences.
  • Socialism: planned economy. On the other hand, socialist philosophy says that the market never regulates itself, but that the strong devour the weak and that a leadership is needed that not only imposes fair rules of the game, but also direct production and plan investment, taking into account what is most needed collectively and not the wishes of a group of capitalists.
• Condition
  • Capitalism: Minimal State. For capitalism, the State must guarantee social peace and the minimum conditions necessary to produce, invest and make money. The role of the State must be minimal, and the private sector must satisfy, in a profitable way, the basic needs of society.
  • Socialism: Strong State. The socialist State must have a continuous presence in society and in the market, to guarantee the common welfare. In communist countries, for example, the state owned everything and could intervene even in the smallest decisions of the daily life of the people. population.

• Property
  • Capitalism: private property. The capitalist model defends private property as the only path to profitability, innovation and effort, so that the owners of the means of production (factories, industries, land, etc.) must be private actors.
  • Socialism: social property. In socialism the means of production must not be private, but public, so that they must pass into the hands of the State as social or community property, since only in this way can production be planned in favor of community.

• Politics
  • Capitalism: political diversity. In capitalist models there is political freedom: anyone can found a party or military in it, and people are free to organize themselves socially and politically. This does not mean that politics is fair, that there is no corruption or favoritism, precisely because the wealthy sectors exercise greater influence in society than the impoverished.
  • Socialism: one party. In the socialist models, a single-party dynamic prevailed during the 20th century, in which dissidence was not tolerated and was often persecuted. Any attempt to change the leadership was considered a counterrevolutionary or pro-bourgeois act. The consequences of this were the dictatorship and the totalitarianism.

• Investment
  • Capitalism: innovation and entrepreneurship. The freedom of enterprise typical of capitalism brings with it great margins of maneuver when it comes to investing money and producing and marketing. Entrepreneurs can dedicate their money to the cause that they consider best and take risks, being able to succeed or fail, produce more of the same or get significantly ahead of others. This brings with it greater innovation and originality, as capitalists continually compete with each other.
  • Socialism: planned investment. In the socialist system, competition does not exist: production is controlled by the State, and that brings with it less scope for entrepreneurship and less innovation. In addition, the correct supervision of companies is not guaranteed, since the State controls itself and can hide information from the public with impunity.

References:

• "Capitalism" in Wikipedia.
• "Socialism" in Wikipedia.
• “Capitalism or socialism?” (video) in Curiously.
• “Capitalism or socialism?” by Jorge Bertolino in Infobae.
• “Capitalism Vs. Socialism” (video) in Illustrate to Educate.
• “Socialism” in The Encyclopaedia Britannica.
• “Capitalism” in The Encyclopaedia Britannica.

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