Capitalism vs. Socialism

“The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries.” — Winston Churchill.

Although the greed, waste, rape and pillage of our planet and its environment is a stain on Capitalism, its productivity makes it the best among all the other flawed systems. Rising tides lift all boats, no matter how choppy the sea. So the question is, how do we improve Capitalism, instead of trying to replace it.

Since the end of WW1 and, in part, due to the Great Depression, Americans have toyed with the idea of Communism and Socialism, striving to find a possible alternative to our current flawed system.

As we envision the ideal of a Peaceable Kingdom, where the lion and the lamb lay together, and the fox and the chicken coexist, we must also recognize the reality that the human condition is fundamentally flawed, as well as all the systems invented to date to govern ourselves.

Germany’s recent election has made clear Europe’s tendency to embrace Socialism, hence their weak Euro and inadequate defence, which is why Australia bypassed France to enter into a defence agreement with Britain and U.S. Meanwhile, China’s new Dictator for Life continues to promote the version of Communism that led to their one child policy and the death of tens of millions in the last century.

At this time in our history, America is caught between Europe’s tax-and-spend socialism, and the central planning of Communism, with our top-down thinking that Washington and Wall Street are somehow wiser than the collection of the Average Joes on Main Street.

America’s saving grace, and the main reason for our 245 year continued history, is our ability to experiment, make mistakes (sometimes big ones, like our recent shameful exit from Afghanistan), learn, course-correct, and grow as a result. Socialism and Communism do not have such a built-in mechanism. So although the bad news is we are in for some major pain and suffering, the good news is, America will recover and blossom again.

Meanwhile, fasten your seatbelts and try to enjoy the ride, remembering to “joyfully participate in the sorrows of the world.”

— Sina.