Student Paper F992-3
Fall 1999, Section II
Reviewer comments

An Ideal Social System?

Man has always been consumed by the ideas of freedom. Philosophers of the 18th century espoused that men had natural unalienable rights. However, people in society often relinquish certain rights in exchange for aid in other aspects of their lives. The problem lies in this balance between absolute rights and freedom for individuals versus the abject loss of rights and freedom for the whole of society. The only system that works for society is one that not only promotes prosperity and recognizes the individual's freedom, but also provides for those in need. The fall of communism did not necessarily signify the triumph of capitalism, but rather an opportunity to analyze components of each social system in order to establish a hybrid of the two.

Every person enters this world with natural rights and the opportunities for the pursuit of happiness. Human beings possess a free will and a decisive consciousness, a desire to actively live their lives. Every individual requires certain values and must satisfy his needs to live. In order to do this, man must learn, think, and act upon his own thoughts and choices. Therefore, inherent in the nature of existence and life is the right of the individual to own and take control of his life. This inalienable, fundamental right of every human includes his rights to think, choose, and act accordingly to his own volition, as long as he does not violate the right of any other individual to do the same.

Interpreting the natural rights of man to mean the right to own one's life and "the freedom to pursue the values necessary to sustaining life and achieve happiness" leads to the ideal concept of capitalism (#6). The basic tenets of capitalism have existed for hundreds of years, but Adam Smith truly popularized this economic system in 1776. Based on a natural law of the economy, he thought that in the best interest of the market, government should be separated from economic policies. Given the natural flow of the economy, led by supply and demand, the market would act as an invisible hand," pushing the people in charge of production to produce what society wants at competitive prices (#3). This approach assumes that, because of competition, producers will continue to improve their products and lower prices in order to gain profit.

Capitalism, besides all its benefits, becomes conducive to violations of human rights. True desire to increase profits past the necessity of the producers, causes exploitation of the workers. The major industrial powers over the past hundreds of years continued to abuse workers' rights and use threats to ensure more yield and less production costs then their competitors. The Industrial Revolution is a prime example. The great inventors and promulgators of large industries benefitted heavily from the values of capitalism. Because of their creativity and skillful manipulation of business, they were the "winners." The workers were on the losing end. The establishment of class structures has always been a factor in any historical period, but the Industrial Revolution created distinct classifications between the middle class and the working class, or the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. Simply put, the rich continued to become richer, and the poor became poorer. In a way, the very ideals of capitalism, which allowed other men to prosper, were the devastating factors that allowed the bourgeoisie to oppress the proletariat.

Many philosophers witnessed these atrocities and cried for reform. The basic natural rights to pursue happiness were being abrogated by the men who had used those same principles to better their own lives. In the 18 century, Jean Jacques Rousseau experienced similar conditions in France. As he saw it, both the economy and government were corrupt. The upper classes were the continuing to become more powerful by exploiting the lower classes. In 1762 he wrote in The Social Contract that the ideal state in which each individual member or citizen would be known as The Sovereign (#2). Each individual who accepts this "social contract" exhibits a dual role: he is bound to the other individuals and to the Sovereign itself, or the "greater good" (#2). The sheer essence of the Sovereign lies in the implicit contract, which binds itself to its parts, meaning that the Sovereign cannot, by definition, go against any of its members. The French Revolution also contributed to the ideas of socialists. They remembered "the Revolution's abolition of serfdom, slavery, inherited privilege, and judicial torture; its experiments with democracy; and its opening of opportunities to those who, for reasons of social status or religion had been traditionally excluded" (#1). Within the thoughts of Rousseau and the events during the French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution, socialism found its roots.

While socialism calls for revolution through democratic processes, communism demands the total overthrow of the bourgeoisie using whatever means necessary. Karl Marx and Frederick Engels wrote the Communist Manifesto in order to publish the views and aims of communism and to help others understand the validity of its arguments. The main essence of the manifesto lies in the assumption that all classes throughout history have been in a constant struggle with each other, and the most recent example is the bourgeois's dominance over the proletariat (#4). The Communist party calls for the working class to revolt against the oppressive bourgeoisie in order to obtain true freedom and security for all. The "gigantic strides of Modern Industry" have benefitted only those with power and control of capital and politics and have been detrimental to the working class who initially created the capital in the first place (#4). Marx and Engels thought that when the exploited and dominated proletarian working class emancipates itself from the oppressive bourgeoisie middle-class, the whole of society would also be free from exploitation, oppression, domination, and class struggles.

To implement communist ideas, Marx and Engels proposed certain steps to overthrow the bourgeoisie supremacy, so that the proletarian working class would gain political power. They suggested many ways in which to implement the procedure of this experiment: abolish private property; convert capital into common property; abolish bourgeois individuality, independence, and freedom; abolish buying and selling; abolish the bourgeoisie family based on capital; centralize credit and communication; and provide free education. In these ways, they predicted that class distinctions would disintegrate, and the people as a whole would live together equally, allowing the country to prosper as a whole. Marx and Engels believed that European society had been based on the exploitation of others and instead should be based on a natural concept of working for each other. The bourgeois had undermined the natural order of society.

Capitalism and socialism share a few basic concepts, but for differing reasons. Karl Marx and Fredrick Engels mentioned a few facets of communism that seem to agree with some aspects of socialism. For instance, both communists and socialists believed that all children should have equal opportunity to education. Capitalists believed that education would help people make better decisions and work harder, therefore improving the entire society. Socialists felt that everyone should be educated in order to be politically aware and to be able to use the tools of democracy to help change their position. Also, they both believed that serfdom should be abolished completely to establish good economic incentives. Capitalists felt that workers needed the protection of property rights to provide the incentive to work, knowing that they could have something to show for their efforts. Socialists saw serfdom as simply another example of one class ruling another. Furthermore, the aristocratic class should be eradicated. According to the capitalists, it should be replaced with meritocracy, and according to the communists, no class distinctions should exist at all. Even though the communists and socialists disagreed vehemently on many points, they did share some beliefs.

Socialists explain many of capitalism's fallacies of thought. Capitalists hold the right to own property to be one of man's inalienable rights. Marx sited this concept as one of the main problems of capitalism. The desire to profit and acquire land is stronger than the desire to be fair and ethical in the treatment of workers. The capitalists use property as a symbol of material gain, just another distinction that places one producer above the next. Socialists, however, see property as a tool for exploitation. Because property holds a greater value than do the workers who created the capital originally, an increase in desire for property generally equates to a decrease in working conditions. Also, the more land the bourgeoisie own, the less there is for the proletariat, perpetuating the upper class's dominance over the working class. Furthermore, wage labor is another tool for exploitation, because it creates capital and social status by favoring some over others. Also, as producers drive down production costs to increase profit, they continue to cut back on worker's wages. Marx grudgingly admired the capitalists for inventing such a process, because it is also cleverly used to place worker against worker for wage competition, while hiding the main cause of the problem. What one worker refuses to work for, another would gladly accept. Diminishing wages created diminishing independence and individuality among the proletariat.

The main assumption about socialism is that it provides no incentive to work, while also stripping the individual of his identity. If socialism's main objective is to establish a society where all work together to help others who cannot sufficiently provide for themselves, then what possess any worker to work harder than his neighbor? Because all land is in state control, all workers earn the same amount of money and have identical benefits; workers have no need, no desire to extend any more than minimal effort in the work place. Opponents of socialism argue that it takes away individualism and replaces it with collectivism. No individual has a right to his own life, but instead must serve the needs of a greater good--the whole of society (#6). Capitalists contend that socialism in impractical, because no rational human will continuously sacrifice his own desires and wants in life to the "means of someone else's happiness" (#6). Socialism has even been deemed the "perversion of esteemed concepts like rights, justice, and even freedom itself" (#6). This process of relinquishing certain rights in exchange for obligations, invert the function of society by "turning it into an insatiable monster" (#6). Individuals become to exist only to serve society. Instead of one class being dominated by another, all of society is dominated by each member's duty toward another.

Despite many weaknesses, both capitalism and socialism each claim to be the moral answer to creating the most beneficial social system for all of society. Capitalists state that the subjection of the individual to society is the most immoral injustice ever committed. The socialist's view of the right to life lies not in "the freedom to think and act to support one's life, but the right to be supported" (#6). The quest for every person's rights is the enslavement of every other individual (#6). In this sense, if socialism is immoral, then the alternative, capitalism, is the moral choice because it guarantees the individual's rights to own his life. Capitalism respects, instead of exploits, men because it allows them to rnake their own decisions and pursue their own happiness (#5). Capitalism claims to be "the only system that hilly allows and encourages the virtues necessary for human life" (#5). However, these same "virtues" become corrupt when used as a tool for one individual's or one group's personal gain over another.

Some of the same reasons that capitalism uses to refute socialism, socialists use to defend their system. Socialism appears to be a humanitarian approach for social change through the democratic process. Socialism claims to be the answer for ending poverty, war, sexism, racism, and nationalism (#7). Socialist freedom means real freedom and respect for everyone (#7). Only in this society of mutual respect and kindness can significant change occur, not simply the acquisition of more capital, but the satisfaction of genuine human needs (#7). This system of social organization should be based on common ownership of property and productive wealth, democratic control by all, and production for use instead of sale and profit. The main tenet of the socialist's moral case is that all members of society will have free access to whatever they need. Society's foundation will change from being based on greed and the advancement of the individual to a moral and compassionate cooperation for the advancement of the whole. The basic ideas of capitalism and socialism have moral undertones.

Freedom, one of humanity's most cherished values, lies at the heart of the debate between capitalism and socialism. Every society and culture each struggles to discover their own values and concepts of freedom. Originally, freedom meant freedom from other's control-freedom from coercion and arbitrary power of other men, political freedom, and freedom to gain control of one's life (#6). Socialists have added what they consider the most important freedom-freedom from want. Furthermore, freedom means release from the enslaving circumstance which may bind a certain group of a society to abject conditions and a limited range of choice. Historian Gale Stokes added in his speech that most recently, freedom has come to signify a privilege, simply another opportunity of the one's who have freedom to exclude, or worse, to exploit the others who do not have freedom.

In order to establish a freedom that incorporates every moral, ethical, and political aspect, a true and sincere cooperation of the basic ideals of both capitalism and socialism must occur. America epitomizes this delicate combination. America has established the high expectations of education proposed by both capitalism and socialism. Based on ideas of humanitarian socialism, the US government has instituted organizations such as welfare, social security, and Medicare to help those who lack the resources to sustain their lives. Also, our tax system is a method of collecting hinds from all members of society to help benefit the greater good. On the other hand, America's financial success has come only from the hands of capitalism. Citizens of America have the right to live their own lives, free from the influence and coercion of anyone else. For global freedom, other countries will have to realize the imperative need for the combination of both sets of values.

Works Cited [Those with links are from the class syllabus]

1. Kaiser, Thomas E. "The French Revolution." Encarta Encyclopedia 99. CD-ROM. New York: Microsoft, 1999.

2. Internet Modern History Sourcebook: Jean Jacques Rousseau: The Social Contract 1762.1997.28 Sept.1999.

3. Internet Modern History Sourcebook: Adam Smith: The Wealth of Nations 1776. 1997. 12 Nov.1999.

4. Marx, Karl and Frederick Engels. Manifesto of the Communist Party. Online version. 17 Nov.1999.

5. "The Moral Basis of Capitalism." The Center for the Moral Defense of Capitalism. Online. 6 Dec.1999.

6. "A Vision of the Future." Philosophy: Who Needs It? Online. Geocities. 6 Dec.1999.

7. "Who is Socialism For?" The World Socialist Movement. Online. 7 Dec. 1999. 11