Economic Shift from Communism to Capitalism

2123 Words9 Pages
Communism vs. Capitalism: Russia's Economic Shift Capitalism and communism are two economic systems that are a sharp contrast to one another in terms of each's political and economic ideas. In other words, the two systems never go together under any circumstance. Capitalism operates from an individualistic standpoint, allowing someone to control all aspects of a business and profit from it. On the other end of the spectrum, communism focuses on the principle of "society before self." Throughout history, countries all over the world in varying regions have used both of these systems. Some have stuck to the same one over an extended period of time, and others, such as Russia and China, have shifted from a communist state to a capitalist state. During the Cold War, the eyes of the economic world were on the clash of these two systems. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1992, as well as it's command ecomony, there has been a large emergence of private capitalists in the country. Many people suggest that capitalism is better than communism, and vice versa. The simple fact remains that neither may be better or worse, it depends on the government's method of carrying out each system's principle for our benefit. Economic shift has produced positive results, as well as negative ones in various countries. Capitalism is the system in which the United States mostly operates on. This type of economy is based on private ownership of the means of production and product creation to gain profit. Aside from that, other elements of capitalism include wage labor, private control of social surplus, competitive markets and the concept of supply and demand. The main capitalist belief is that the individual should be free to make decisions about what they want and the means to acquire it. The state is completely separated from economics, such as production and trade. In our
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