Our award of $1,000 has been given to San Marin student Amber Simonetti at the San Marin awards night. Amber is a top student with a promising future. We congratulate her on her accomplishments and wish her a wildly successful college career. Below you can read her winning essay.

On Socialism and Capitalism

One of the most important issues of our day is the issue of economics. With this topic at the forefront of discussions, it is wise to revisit some of the most well-known and widely used economic systems, and to examine how they work. Capitalism and socialism are the two most prevalent systems in our world, and seem on the surface to be complete opposites. Neither system has ever existed in its truest form, but it is important to examine how these systems operate and what benefits or possible consequences they leave behind in the nations they have touched.

In its purest form, capitalism is the idea of private ownership, self-defining wages and workers, and a free market without intervention from the government. It is, quite simply, a merit-based system where any success is earned. Capitalism emphasizes generating profits and economic competition to grow. Pure socialism takes an opposing view, supporting the idea of goods and products being distributed based on need, not merit. This economic system is based on all things belonging to the public and everything being distributed according to a plan that provides equally for all people. True socialists see the need for profit as obsolete, falling far second to the goal of meeting the needs of every citizen.

Based simply on theoretical definitions, it would appear capitalism is the meaner, more competitive system and socialism is the more giving, conscientious way to go. In practice, it comes down to which system allows its people the most freedom and success.

Socialism is the kind of idea that looks good on paper, but when put to the test of real life, finds little to no actual success. It is a brilliant aspiration to want equality and support for every person, but it is simply unattainable without cutting off freedoms. This is a consequence that mankind in general rails against, and has resulted in the deterioration of states which operate on strongly socialist systems.

The strongest example of this is Russia’s Soviet Union. What began as a noble idea to create equality among its people ended up with the leaders becoming just as corrupt as could be feared and the people suffering for it. For decades, the USSR struggled to hold on to economic super stardom, but could not expand to keep up with the global economy. The people steadily lost more privileges and freedoms, needing to be controlled for the government’s economic plan to work. The USSR stagnated and, finally, collapsed under the weight of trying to support a failing system that no one wanted any longer.

The practice of capitalism is far less bleak and cut-throat than its theoretical explanation seems. In fact, this system has prevailed as the most widely practiced economic structure and is used in the most economically successful countries in the world. Capitalism allows for a sense of freedom other economic schemes do not. It encourages innovation and a healthy competition that always circles back to benefit all involved. The biggest complaint about capitalism is that it forces the working class to become exploited by the richer class. This is only slightly true, as the higher class would never succeed if not for the working class. Capitalism forces people to rely on each other and the power of human thought and self betterment.

As one of the most purely capitalist countries for a great while, America is a prime example of how successful capitalism can be. That is not to say it doesn’t have its drawbacks. America had the roaring twenties, but also the Great Depression of the thirties. The thing to remember about capitalism is that it has cycles. When left to its own devices, a capitalist free market economy will have dips, but heal itself with time. This country is currently in an economic downturn, and many may panic at the idea, but if history is any sort of example, we will come out of it, and probably be better for it. As stated, we are not a perfect capitalist economy, so it will take more time for the economy to naturally bounce back, but it will if we continue to support the free market values America has long lived by. We are still the world’s most influential superpower, and that is thanks to an economic system that allows us the freedom to create of ourselves whatever we wish.

Socialism and capitalism might be seen as polar opposites, but can also be viewed as a pair of ideas who have both good and bad points. Socialism has the good intentions of wanting equality for all, but has historically failed to achieve such lofty hopes. Capitalism has been known to produce divided class systems that some may call corrupt, but it has generally succeeded where socialism has failed: in the real world, and with people who value freedom from oppression.