Socialism is an economic structure based on the people.
In this structure, there are five main principles that include democratism, egalitarianism, community, public ownership of the means of production, and planning for common purposes.
First, for socialism to work, everyone must be on board. Some countries claim to be socialist, but are not truly socialist. For example, the People’s Republic of China is technically a socialist country, but is openly under communist rule, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, despite its name, is a mixed government, influenced by communist practices and ideals. This misconception is often a turn off for people.
Second, egalitarianism means that resources are split up evenly among the people, not always perfectly, but with little room for inequality. All necessities are taken care of. This goes hand-in-hand with community, where taxes are high, but everyone’s need are taken care of.
Public ownership over production is the fourth factor where the people own industries, institutions, utilities, transportations, and communication, but the goal is still serving the public and not gaining profit.
Lastly, planning is a key component to socialism. This allows for the other components to be put in place, consequently, helping the whole is more important than helping a few. Planning also allows for room to improve on society’s goals, such as preserving the environment, natural resources, developing technologies, and preventing pollution.
In America, we have capitalism where the goal is personal success and wealth. While this might be great for those who are able to climb the corporate ladder, for everyone else, it is a hindrance for their economic stability.
Eventually, the disparity of wealth will grow and grow until there is only the very rich and the very poor. Part of the reason this will happen is because of the way the economic structure coincides with the governmental structure. In America it takes money to run for political office. Either candidates need to have that money themselves, or have the backing of large, and consequently rich, organizations and companies. Then, when the candidate is elected, they owe it to these rich companies to pass laws or support them politically in exchange for their monetary support. This makes the businesses with money and the office holder’s power nearly synonymous.
Without the power that comes with this money, there are less connections between specific businesses and officials because the government owns the businesses in a socialist government. Consequently, favoritism is less likely to be shown.
Socialist economies protect from the disparity of wealth that comes with capitalist economies. Taxes are higher, but there are tradeoffs. There is universal healthcare, higher minimum wage, inexpensive access to higher education, and a smaller poor population.
Socialist countries often report higher rates of satisfaction and happiness. Maybe this is due to the lack of worries that come with the safety net that social services provide. Maybe it’s because their president didn’t just kill a bunch of innocent civilians. Either way, these countries don’t need to worry about affording an ambulance just to get to the hospital and college loans don’t keep them up at night.
Emma Farina
Opinions Columnist