Capitalism vs. Socialism: Comparing Economic Systems

(This course is available for immediate delivery) All of the tradeoffs in competing economic systems—capitalism, socialism, and communism—are controversial. These ideologies and systems have shaped how people see the world and the history of modern times.

Capitalism vs. Socialism: Comparing Economic Systems

All of the tradeoffs in competing economic systems—capitalism, socialism, and communism—are controversial. These ideologies and systems have shaped how people see the world and the history of modern times. But where does capitalism start and socialism stop? In short, it’s about choice and compromise.

Capitalism Socialism and education are centered on major social issues like taxation, healthcare, and social services. They also raise civil liberties issues that balance individual freedom with the collective safety net and social security. Many people mistakenly believe that economics is all about money. In reality, it is only about the end. Since centuries, economics is all about people and their lives. Society has been striving for the ideal system to balance freedom and security. No one has found perfect equilibrium—the debates rage on and economies are in constant flux—but some major contenders have emerged, all of which are variations of capitalism and socialism in differing degrees and combinations. It is difficult to determine which option is best in a definitive manner, and it is also a Sisyphean task.

Comparative economics is a way to understand and solve these constant dilemmas. By looking at the many economies around the world—their histories, their failures and successes—comparative economics attempts to uncover the influences, systems, and decisions that can do the most good for the most people. Edward F. Stuart, Northeastern Illinois University’s Professor Emeritus, is here to guide you through this complicated web of theories and values. He is also a specialist in comparative economics as well as Russian and Eastern European studies. Professor Stuart has been traveling, teaching, and learning about these economic systems—in the former Soviet Union, the former Eastern Bloc, China, Scandinavia, and Europe—for more than 30 years. It could even be argued that he was born to be a comparative economist, raised in a household defined by the very debates he analyzes as personified in the libertarian views of his father and his mother’s social progressivism. This personal connection to his subject gives him a personal perspective that illustrates his continuing passion for these issues on a global basis.

Economists attempt to understand complex systems, which include not only finance and commerce, but also social structures, governments and family arrangements. 24 lectures by the illuminating Professor. Capitalism vs. Socialism: Comparing Economic Systems will show you the many ways the most influential modern economic theories were developed, how they function (or don’t), and how they manage to operate both together and in opposition to each other, from the rise of Soviet communism to the future of the European Union and beyond. Professor Stuart will compare and contrast different approaches to economic problems, and show you that even the most controversial economic decisions can be reduced to one simple question: What makes for a good society?

Measuring Success

Professor Stuart clarifies that there is no way to objectively determine if an economy has a functioning economy. “good” Or “bad.” Instead, economists have many data points and statistics that can be used to assess the relative health of any system. There are many measuring tools, including gross domestic product (GDP), unemployment rate, inflation and life expectancy. The hardest part is not translating complicated metrics but choosing which ones are most important. Although GDP is often discussed in the media, it is not the only indicator of economic success. While it is common to argue that low unemployment or low inflation are positive for an economy, few can agree on whether they are a good indicator of economic success. Professor Stuart points out, “people can argue forever using whatever statistics prove their point.”

How can we tell when an economy is in trouble if there aren’t any reliable conclusions? “works”? What is more important, rapid growth or economic equality? What is more important, low inflation or high infant mortality rates? As you progress through the history of capitalism, socialism, communism, and mixed-economies—and look at their manifestations across the world today—Professor Stuart will demonstrate that absolutes in economics are much like those in culture or politics: impossible and ultimately unhelpful. It is not in finding balance, making comparisons, and making compromises that economies can discover how to thrive, stagnate or even collapse.

The Paradoxes and Prosperity

The study of economics may seem superficially like a game of numbers, as it relies on large-scale, unpersonal statistics to help focus attention on broad trends. This is what it looks like. “big picture” Sometimes, this can mean that prosperity’s human costs can be ignored and viewed as just the cost of doing business. Slavery and exploitation. Unsafe working conditions Child labor. Government oppression. These and other issues should not be ignored. Capitalism Socialism vs. This tour will take you through centuries and across the globe to tell you both sides of the story. It will also include a dive into the history and personalities of economic systems, including notable industrialists such as Josiah Wedgewood and Karl Marx, and political leaders like Stalin, FDR or Otto von Bismarck.

People are the true heart of economics. It is not surprising that economic systems are full of paradoxes. Professor Stuart will take you through the many changes in modern economics. He explains how there are both advantages and disadvantages to every system. However, unexpected or counterintuitive elements can create roadblocks. Some examples of such paradoxes are:

• In free market systems, strong government is necessary. A strong central government is essential to ensure that large-scale capitalist enterprises are successful.
• The “paradox of thrift.” Although it’s smart for businesses and individuals to build up cash reserves in order to survive a recession it can eventually lead to negative effects on total spending, incomes, employment, and production.
• More money doesn’t equal more spending. Also known as “marginal propensity to consume,” While wealthy people tend to have unreliable spending habits, poor people almost always spend 100% of their income or slightly more.
• “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” Professor Stuart explains how in his allegory novel Animal FarmGeorge Orwell highlights the irony of communism as it exists in practice. While everyone is equal, a hierarchy of power still exists.

Economic Histories

Capitalism Socialism and communism are often seen as incompatible. However, if you examine their histories and develop them further, you’ll find that they are inextricably interconnected. Many social, political and religious factors all played a role in the birth of capitalism, at a moment when new, democratic political systems were emerging from the oppressive shadows of feudalism. In turn, modern socialism is the direct result of the pitfalls of free-market capitalism in the 18th and 19th centuries—the exploitation and dangerous, impoverished conditions workers were often subjected to inspired reformers and political thinkers to envision new ways to create a better, more equal society. Other countries took the socialist ideology to extreme with authoritarian communism. Professor Stuart examines these systems and their history, revealing the strengths and weaknesses of each system and showing why there isn’t a pure capitalist or pure socialist system in the world today.

Professor Stuart will lead you through the history and evolution of economic thought. You’ll see the great economic successes and failures of the past century, such as the creation and maintenance of socialist experimentation in America, the economic effects of World War I and how the Great Depression exposed the instability of postwar markets. In his lectures, Stuart shares many personal stories and shows surprising connections between economics as well as other aspects of modern culture and life. You’ll find answers to many questions throughout the lectures.

• Where are phrases like “when my ship comes in” And “there’s no such thing as a free lunch” originate?
• What is the relationship between the economic growth rate and the average height in a population?
• Why is the role of the goldsmiths from the middle ages so significant in the history and economics of modern economies?
• The money-back guarantee concept is from where?
• What is the relationship between a socialist experiment in 19th-century Russia and the microwave oven?
• How did novelists such as Upton Sinclair and Theodore Dreiser influence arguments about various economic systems?
• What can rock music and the Rubik’s cube tell us about post-World War II capitalism?

Is History Ending?

What matters most? Does What makes a society a good one? How can we predict the future of global economies if every country, each community, and every person on the planet assigns a different value the tradeoffs between social solidarity and individual liberty that determine economic systems? Many economies are interconnected and each has its advantages and drawbacks, which cannot be objectively quantified.

Professor Stuart points out that we are not at history’s end. Many of the questions that we ask today will be asked in the future. Comparative economics is not the end of history. “final” form of human government or the ultimate economic plan, but rather the opportunity to uncover the ways societies have shaped—and will continue to shape—the world to fit the boundless ideals that make a good society, and what each option can tell us about ourselves, the world we live in, and the world we want to create.

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