Alexandra Euglow - Capitalism

Alexandra Euglow
1. Discuss both the advantages and disadvantages of living in a capitalist society. Then describe how such disadvantages could be minimized.

There are three main economic systems that a country could choose to follow. The first economic system would be Capitalism. Capitalism is an economic system in which all or most of the factors of production and distribution are privately owned and operated for profit. Another economic system would be Socialism which is a system based on the premise that some, if not most, basic businesses should be owned by the government so that profits can be more evenly distributed among the people. The last system would be Communism which is an economic and political system in which the government makes almost all economic decisions and owns almost all the major factors of production. Within these three economic systems, I will focus in on Capitalism.

Capitalism is the economic system that has led to a lot of the wealth within this world. The advantages of Capitalism are the government has limited control over business, which allows businesses to compete against one another. People are also allowed to choose what kind of work they would like to go into. People also have control over their own money; they can chose to save it, to invest it, to spend it, to donate it or whatever they would like. It also allows for people to own their own property, opportunity and competitive markets. Some disadvantages to Capitalism are the barriers between people in terms of how much money or wealth they have or make. There is a quote that many say about Capitalism, “The rich get richer, while the poor get poorer.” Another disadvantage would be that government control is limited and a couple of businesses can dominate the industry and take control. All in all, it would seem the advantages overtake the disadvantages, but do they really?

The major disadvantage to Capitalism is the belief that “The rich get richer, while the poor get poorer.” Some do not believe this to be a disadvantage because they say that poor people are not trying to start businesses and provide others with jobs, so we need the rich to prosper. I believe everyone should have an equal chance. I think a solution would be that not only rich people get loans. I was really impressed with Muhammad Yunus and his bank, Grameen Bank. This bank allowed women, people without bank accounts and just disadvantaged individuals the opportunity to get a loan and start their own business. I believe if the United States had a bank like this then the above quote would no longer be true. All in all, Capitalism does separate the classes of people greatly and causes tension.