Sunday, January 29, 2012

(late) HW #2

 
The question I chose to answer for my homework number two is the first one about discussing both the advantages and disadvantages of living in a capitalist society and how to minimize the disadvantages. Being born and raised in a socialist country that Poland was, since it’s actually turning into a mixed economies system now, I think I could provide a little different point of view.

Capitalism is found on four basic rights which include: the right to own property, the right to own a business and keep all that business’s profits, the right to freedom of competition, and the right to freedom of choice. The biggest benefit that “jumps” right out in my opinion is how capitalism is evolved around freedom of choice and decision. Also, people are willing to take more risks, in order to benefit more in the end. Another very important thing is that people are pretty much free to do what they want with the money they earn after paying off the government taxes. Unlike in socialist or even communist societies, in capitalism you are not forced to give away a big chunk of your salary to the government in exchange for free health care and public transportation. People are left with the decision of how to spend their money; whether they want to blow it all on some useless cause, or simply save it up themselves. What I also like is the competition. Competition is a very vital thing in economy; it allows for a better quality of products and the prices to be regulated little differently. It pretty much roots out the probability of shortage as well.

Like every idea, there are good and bad sides to it. Capitalism isn’t any different. Sometimes, the distribution of wealth might not be fair. Greed is a very active factor with people once they actually start making decent profit, and think about themselves only. Most big corporations are pretty much forced to give back to their communities by the local government, and sometimes that might create a little “stinky” situation since people might turn hostile. Big corporations might also get too powerful, and that’s not good neither. Coming out of a socialist country, I have to say that some workers tend to be treated little worse in a capitalistic system. It’s because a company might want to maximize its production thus forcing workers to work beyond their limits. Bad employee treatment always seems to be a problem.

These disadvantages listed above could be minimized. Harsher laws and regulations could provide a morale boost for many people. I personally also think that the eight hour day is little too long. I think it should be shortened to 7 hours, which could always give a Leigh way for workers. Employees should be by law entitled to more vacation time and some extra benefits.   

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