The Differences Between Capitalism and Socialism


1 INTRODUCTION
This article aims to explain the facts that led to the establishment of different economic systems, capitalism and socialism. What the socialist thinkers like Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels thought? Capitalism began in the fifteenth century onwards, but from the eighteenth century with the advent of steam power and new production techniques had to Industrial Revolution.

In 1750, Britain has been the hallmark of the Industrial Revolution, the cradle of capitalism. Later in the nineteenth century other countries such as USA, Germany, France, Japan and others begin to adopt the capitalist system. The consequences were drastic Capitalism, caused a large displacement of people from the countryside to cities, creating urban concentrations (Pauline; SILVA, 2005, p.04). This took much of the manpower for the development of male railroads, women and children were used in textile factories and mines with long working hours and wages reduced.

With the growing social inequalities, which were socialist thinkers Karl Marx (1818-1883), Friedrich Engels (1820-1895) began to study the facts to explain social phenomena that were occurring. According to Campos (2007), in Marxist theory, the state is the means by which one class dominates and exploits another.

The Communist Manifesto, written in 1848, the authors say, when communism was implemented, society would live in collectivism, without division of social classes and even the presence of a coercive state.





CAPITALISM 2



The capitalist system began in the fifteenth century to century, through the accumulation of capital through profits from the trade and exploitation of human labor, whether employed or slave, calling the commercial capital. From the mid-eighteenth century with the advent of steam power, the power loom and other techniques comes the Industrial Revolution. The Industrial Revolution began in England in 1750, when the man went to buy another man's work for wages.

In the social environment, the main change was the emergence of the working class, who were living in precarious conditions in cities, living in slums, submitting to wages, with long working hours and without any labor law (Pauline; SILVA , 2005, p.51). Subsequently, there is banking, or lending money at interest, where the currency has become the main product of the capitalist system .

     According to Guareschi (2003, p.51), Capitalism is a system that separates the working capital and whose relations are of domination and exploitation, that is, so there is domination and exploitation is necessary for the production work and capital are separated . For Marx, the mode of production is the way society organizes the production of goods necessary for survival (Pauline; SILVA, 2005, p.18).

   The capitalist system can be characterized in three ways:

l Property or private means of production;

Wage labor l;

l Free initiative on state planning.

      In view of the above, it is clear that capitalist society was divided into two classes: the bourgeoisie, which owns the means of production and the proletariat, which only offers the workforce. As New (2004, p.88):

The social organization, and therefore, the forms of behavior and interaction between men are in fact governed by the contracted relationships between men in the process of production of goods necessary for their existence.



 In the early twentieth century, capitalism was characterized by liberalism, ie a situation in which government interference in economic affairs was minimal (KOPELKE, 2007, p.22). After the 1929 crisis, the state will interfere with economic activities in many countries, calling Neoliberalism, for example, U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt implemented in 1933, the New Deal (new agreement), an economic and social program introducing unemployment allowance, help the needy, public works projects, etc..

     In 1936, the British economist John Maynard Keynes published The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money, which advocates a policy antidesemprego sponsored by the government. According Kopelke (2007, p.22) Capitalism is now the main economic system in operation, although there are still some countries that adopt Socialism.




3 Socialism



     In the nineteenth century, there is the emergence of a new scientific method of study of society, which seeks to understand social change, its consequences for society and the future (Pauline; SILVA, 2005, p.06).

    For Max Weber (2002, p.24) the modern state represents a complexity of harmonious action by individuals, because many people act on the belief that it exists or should exist to promote the legal validity of their orders.

     Since ancient times, some people concerned about social life, thought to modify the relationships that capitalism had been causing. According to Marx, he criticizes capitalism by definition of the interest by money and material gain as the main reason for the survival of man (Pauline; SILVA, 2005, p.19).


       As Singer (2002, p.174) the promise of socialism is to establish a society superior to capitalism in three aspects:

l The economy would not be subject to crises, unemployment, because it was planned, with a control by the community about the social process of production and distribution, so the individual would no longer be dominated by the unpredictable forces of the market;

l The establishment of equality: the capitalist society would be the last class society, whose evolution will simplify the social structure, making most people more or less homogeneous;

l Socialism would give to all members of society a greater degree of material well-being and freedom.

         Some of the pioneers of the thought patterns of an ideal society was the Englishman Thomas More, who wrote in 1516, the work Utopia, which depicts an imaginary society run by an ideal state, free of internal contradictions and injustices unable to perform the its members (KOPELKE, 2007, p.23). But the founders of scientific socialism or communism were Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, who left the contradictory relations of capitalist production to propose its destruction through the action of the workers.

          According to Campos (2007) Marx did not consider classes only one group that shares a certain social status, but shares in property relations. In Guareschi (2003, p.52) explains that the added value is the profit left after all expenses deducted. For Marx who had productive capital with which to expropriate surplus value, representing the exploiting class, on the other hand would be wage earners, who do not own the property, thus the proletariat (CAMPOS, 2007).

       In the Marxist conception, one can extract from his book the Communist Manifesto (1987, p.75) understanding:

By bourgeoisie is meant the class of modern capitalists, owners of means of social production, which employ wage labor. By proletariat, the modern class of employees who, not having their own means of production are forced to sell their labor power to survive.

In 1917, the Russian Revolution installed in power the Communist system, under the leadership of Russia Vladimir Lenin (1870-1924), in establishing the dictatorship of the proletariat and the Communist Party. In view of Kopelke (2007, p.25) the Russian Revolution destroyed the capitalist institutions of the country, but never reached the point of complete state disappears, as predicted by Marx.

The social system can be characterized as a system in which there is no private property or private means of production. The economy is controlled by the state in order to promote the fair distribution of wealth among all people in society. After the Second World War (1939-1945) became socialist countries, for example, China in 1949, led by Mao Zedong (1893-1976), Cuba in 1959 by Fidel Castro and others. However, this new system put in place presented several problems:

  • Lack of people's participation in government decisions;
  • Lack of freedom of thought and expression;
  • Formation of a highly privileged political group.




4 The differences between capitalism and socialism

Currently, most countries adopted capitalism. Globalization and the Information Age is making the capitalist system more dynamic and constantly changing. Capitalism has certain advantages:

· Low literacy rate;

· High income per capita;

· High level of food;

· Economic domination;

· Control of science and technology, etc..

Looking at the data display can be said that the developed or first world have a great life expectancy, meanwhile developing countries, the situation will get worse because there is poor accessibility conditions básicas.Com neoliberalism is growing social inequality and social exclusion.      

Socialism is still adopted in some countries such as Cuba, which is led by Fidel Castro. Analyzing and taking the theory into practice, the country turns out to be closed, the people have no right to democracy and also does not provide a decent quality of life for citizens as might be expected. Anyway who has benefited most of the times is the government and its dome. According to Guareschi (2003, p.63) countries that call themselves communist in practice, even approaching the Capitalism, because instead of there there are those who own the means of production, there is only the State Party, which explores the Similarly the work of employees.

New (2004, p. 42) understands that in underdeveloped societies, where social injustices they awaken in many, strong feelings of indignation, some seek in socialism through a resolution - and not just for scientific explanation and social problems .


3 CONCLUSION

It can be concluded that the differences of the two economic systems, which provide both advantages and disadvantages. That is, while one enriches the other poorer. Capitalism in most countries now have democracy, which gives people the right to choose, but when it comes to market, the government is who makes the final decisions, and sometimes does not allow growth to a segment of society. Socialism only in theory is good, because in practice people are totally different, ie, each with their wishes, dreams from a different perspective of others.

As Paganatto (2007) model of the social edifice is to be replaced by a more modern, cultural phases, and perpetuating itself through the identification of individuals with their social contract and subsequent rules. Souza (2007) neo-liberalism is the future of modern humanity, a single society, radically competitive substrate which translates into a global free market economy and unified, guaranteed by the natural impulse of man to the competition.

According Paulini and Silva (2005, p.17) Marx is dialectical method to the understanding of reality as contradictory and constantly changing. The company must get the internal laws of historical development through the identification of contradictions to liberate man from his alienated consciousness. According Kopelke (2007, p.27) accept liberal capitalist economies growing state involvement in economic decisions, and on the other countries of centrally planned economies in the hand of the state accept the growing participation of the initiative, economic decisions.

 In Singer (2002, p.186) the struggle for liberation movements not only adds to the struggle for socialism, but actually extends the very latitude of Socialism, which is not confined to elimination of economic exploitation of the proletariat, but proposes fight the types of exploitation and discrimination, both in business and in other institutions, including in the family. Guareschi (2003, p.63) a big difference in reality between the capitalist and communist countries is that the communist-socialist majority of the population has guaranteed basic living - food, shelter, education, health, clothing, etc.. Meanwhile in capitalist countries, where the exploitation is large, much of the population lacks such basic services and poverty is high, as can be seen on every corner.

Finally let the phrase that Marx and Engels (1987, p.109) pose as reflection at the end of the book the Communist Manifesto for the working people "Proletarians of all countries, unite."



4 REFERENCES



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