Capitalism Capitalism is an economic and political system where economy production is controlled by private owners and consumers instead of the government. The theory of capitalism was created by Adam Smith, author of “The Wealth of Nations” to achieve economic freedom. He reinforced the term “Laissez- Faire” meaning the government should not interfere with the economy because the “Invisible Hand” or supply and demand will naturally set the prices and quantity. Consumers’ actions influence business owners’ decisions on what to produce, how to produce and for whom to produce. Capitalism is most often seen in a market economy.
Capitalism and communism have always been viewed as two opposing political and economic structures. First and foremost, capitalism is an economic system influenced by individuals and private organizations by which there is freedom of the market. Communism however, is defined as an economic and political system whereby all resources are collectively owned and governed by the state. Even though communism is subjected to bringing about ‘declining suffering of public condemnations’; still, it is a maintained political system within various Countries. So could communism be a practical idea?
Karl Marx believed that the means, relations, and mode of production all relate to the inequality in a capitalist society. What he is talking about when he says means of production in society are physical non-human inputs used to produce goods. A means of production could be a natural resource or it could also be technology. Whoever controls the means of production is going to have the most power. The capitalist owned the means of production in capitalism and therefore basically were able to control the economy.
Part 1 Terminology Macroeconomics use terminology that is rather distinct from other fields of study. To describe the massiveness of a nation’s economy a numerical measurement is essential. There are many ways to measure economic activity, but a single, common measure is important for purpose of comparison between two different countries or even the same country to itself at different times. Economists have generally agreed that the best measure is the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This is the sum of cost of all the final products and services sold in any economy.
“The only economic system that is morally defensible is Capitalism”. Discuss. Capitalism is an economic system in which capital assets (such as property) are privately owned by people or an individual, not by a government or communities. Goods and services are produced for profit in a market economy. Capitalism mostly has a "free market" economy, which means people buy and sell things by their own judgment.
The political functionalities of the individualistic subculture is similar to that of America's economy, "those with the abundance of wealth get what they want." Individualists believe that government should not be concerned with creating a society with high morals, but the fuctions of the government are to meet the demands of the people; which is the "sole" purpose of the government. Also, the power of the government is to be kept in check or limited, along with minimal interference of the private activities of the people.Individualists can care less of corruption in this " political arena." According to the sum of all these beliefs, individualists hold the opinion that the main function is that the government should sustain society so that individuals continue the pursuit of their own interests. Unlike the viewpoints in the individualistic subculture that government should be limited, the moralistic subculture views the government as positive tool responsible to promote the general welfare.
The working class are called the Proletariats; the people who work for the institutions and big chains, and buy from, or use the institutions. Marxists believe that the Bourgeoisie are exploiting the Proletariats in a big superstructure that keeps society together and functioning. Marxism is a conflict theory. They believe that we’re in a Capitalist society and we are in a massive superstructure which is controlled by the Bourgeoisie. They all also believe that the family gained its structure due to this Capitalist divide, and before Capitalism there was no family structure because everyone shared the labour and owned all means of production.
Capitalism for example, thrives on the idea that the Government is democratic, property can be privately owned by its citizens, wealth is not evenly distributed, and there are social classes of people from rich to poor. Capitalism is designed by nature to allow individuals, not the Government, to control resources. Profit is then distributed at the will of the private owner. Capitalism promotes competition and individualism through aggressive business tactics not controlled by any government authority. Capitalism was the child of feudalism, ruled the middle ages, and still thrives in the modern world to date (Hands,
In modern society it is a capitalist class who own and conrtrol these means of production. Marx pointed out that in early societies such as the hunter gatherers it was a classless structure, which he called "Primitive Communisim" and this worked because everyone owned the means of production communally. There was no need for a nuclear family, people lived in tribes or as Engels called it the "Promiscuous Horde". As production developed wealth was created, some members of society saw the advantages of private property and so society changed by being split into those who controlled the means of production and those who no longer did. This led to the patriarchal monogomous nuclear family.
Badie and Birnbaum (1983: 57) explain that within a capitalist society people are free to choose how to utilize their money. They may save it, donate it to charity, or purchase products and services. For these reasons a capitalist society is described as containing a free market. The market is all those things that money can buy, and the people can act freely concerning whether and what they buy. Within a socialist society the means of production and distribution are either determined by all the people through a government , or else select individuals within government decide for the people what will be produced and in what quantity, as well as determine who is entitled to that which is produced.