The Advantages and Disadvantages of Capitalism (Question One)

 Discuss both the advantages and disadvantages of living in a capitalist society.   The, describe how such disadvantages could be minimized.

Living in a capitalist society comes with many advantages and disadvantages. Living in a capitalist society allows people to four rights: the right to own private 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. President Franklin Roosevelt said we should also be entitled to: freedom of speech and expression, the freedom to worship in your own way, freedom from want, and freedom for fear. While these were not definition rights of capitalism, they were just as important. 

To put the four basic rights in simpler terms, we can own and sell anything we own/want, make a life out of owning a business, make our own prices of goods and services, and decide if we work or not. All of this allows people to fulfill whatever dreams they may have and take a risk. In doing so, we can create more competition for businesses, which causes them to have competitive pricing. This benefits the consumer since they will be able to have the cheapest prices possible. We are able to use supply and demand in order to determine the quantities of products and the prices we set them at. The fact that a business can make a profit makes business owners want to work harder. Ultimately, most of the decisions are up to business owners and consumers.

There are some disadvantages to living in a capitalist society. By not having as much government interference, we put ourselves at great risk when trying to start a business. There is a great possibility that we will fail and lose our time, money, and other resources in the process. When a business fails, people are put out of jobs, raising the unemployment rate as we talked about in class. In other government systems, such as communism and socialism, the government plays a huge role in the success of a business. They regulate the pricing and the quantity of goods being sold, therefore helping businesses succeed. These government systems also provide free healthcare, education, and various other services since the taxes are much higher.