When it comes to the global market, free-trade can bring about some problems. The solution to these problems is socialism. As was discussed in class last week, it can be difficult, or even impossible, to hold global economic actors accountable. By global economic actors, I am referring to corporations that do business in at least three different countries. This business can be manufacturing, selling of products, or even the purchasing of materials used to create their products. The issue with capitalism in regards to these organizations is that because they are private actors, it becomes difficult to hold them accountable for their actions. I discussed the reasons why accountability is difficult in the previous blog post, therefore this post will emphasize just why socialism should be given a chance and why it is given a bad rap.
I want to begin by reiterating that socialism is not communism. I repeat, socialism is not communism. The existence of socialism does not automatically mean that communism is also present. Typically when I bring up socialism in conversation, people automatically jump on the defense claiming that it did not work in the Soviet Union. I believe that the problem here is that people often think of the Soviet Union because of their education on the topic, as some were not taught extensively enough that there is a difference between socialism and communism, and that they are not the same theory with synonymous names.
In addition, people tend to ignore examples of socialism positively effecting countries. My favorite example is Canada, where free healthcare and the low cost of higher education make the country comparable to a city upon a hill. Some other examples of socialism benefiting citizens of a country are Finland, Sweden and Norway. My question, therefore is if socialism works on a state level, why wouldn't it work on a global level? If global corporations can be held accountable for their actions in this type of economic structure, why not give it a try? It is my belief that one cannot complain about the lack of accountability of a corporation, if one does not support the idea of alternative global economic structures.
https://auisgroup1summer18.blogspot.com/2018/07/socialism-is-not-communism.html
I'm glad you decided to write a post on this. I remember in class that you were eager to start a socialism debate! I think this class as a whole has really tried to drive home the idea of theory on a global scale rather than merely domestic instances. It's important to note how different theories are successful or unsuccessful at a global level. This also fits a bit with our global public sphere topic this week. Public opinion of socialism is often influenced, as you mentioned, by the Soviet Union example and this has overshadowed instances and chances for success. This is not to diminish important lessons that are to be taken from the Soviet example but to emphasize that there could be greater lessons to be learned as a global audience.
ReplyDeleteCommunism is not communism! So I agree that socialism (even communism) is given a bad wrap in society, but to be fair Russia, China, and most places where the "communist" experiment went down, the phase of communism was never actually achieved. The Soviet Union, in fact, was called the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. They never made it past an augmented version of the dictatorship of the proletariat, meaning socialism.
ReplyDeleteSo while, yes socialism exists in the world, communism doesn't, not really anyway. In that vein, I do find it difficult to agree with the statement that socialism is the answer. A socialist society is in some ways better than a capitalist one, but presents issues of its own. Rather than throwing the baby out with the bathwater, I always advocate for increased socialization of certain things. In the United States, for instance, capitalism has decimated healthcare, making it the perfect candidate for socialized programs to save the day. Socialism isn't THE answer, but it definitely is a part of it.