Quite often in the heated political discussions that take place, people talk about Capitalism versus Socialism. Some root for Socialism because they believe it will give everyone access to essential services provided by the government, while Capitalism, they believe, makes rich people richer by taking advantage of workers and leaving many poor. Others insist on retaining Capitalism in our country because they feel it gives everyone a chance to work hard and provide for themselves, while their view of Socialism is that people will become lazy and wait on the government to provide everything for them.
I believe we can dig up evidence for every one of these beliefs, even though they may be in conflict with each other. I would say that the reason is because it isn’t necessarily the political or economic systems alone that bring these outcomes; many forces within societies and cultures influence the outcome of a political or economic system (the systems are just tools). Each system will have its own characteristics, its own strengths and weaknesses, and particular conditions for which it is well-suited. So if we speak of Capitalism vs. Socialism, we should also be looking at the specific conditions of the community or nation where we expect to implement it.
In particular, we’d need to look at the nature and attitudes of the people who would be part of the system. Can we find and recruit the type of people who would make it run well, or would their human failings likely create another source of oppression and struggle? Would the people who participate without being in charge follow the system in ways that help it function well or would they more likely be rebels, thwarting any good intentions of those running the system? We would also need to consider if there are reasonable measures that could be put in place to counter negative human shortcomings that could disrupt the system’s benevolent purposes.
We would probably need to consider other factors too, such as what other communities or nations are doing and how that may affect our own. Since the simple names of these systems describe broad concepts, we might also need to consider the particular way that the system would be implemented. But for most or all of the conversations that I’ve ever heard of where people were discussing different political/economic systems, people seem to adamantly insist that this or that system is the best, without discussing any societal factors that would affect the system.
In the United States, the two systems that seem to run up against each other are Capitalism and Socialism. In truth, I would say that we have both operating simultaneously in our country, though people don’t always acknowledge that and don’t realize that some of the things they enjoy in our country may be here because of either the Capitalism or the Socialism part that they are against.
As I mentioned earlier, whatever system we are using, we need to consider the people and how they think and act. In the early days of the Industrial Revolution, Capitalism was the system that enabled the production of many new products or services that gave consumers new options and conveniences. But those who ran the factories probably looked at people merely as company resources that they could use in whatever way they needed to produce products and profits. This led to harsh conditions and long work hours, because that would mean their business costs were lower, which in turn should give them more profit.
On the other hand, Socialism could provide every citizen the healthcare they need, regardless of one’s income. We could even say that our law enforcement is a form of Socialism, since we receive protection, free of charge from the government. But again, the people are an issue. If government officials who manage the healthcare system are only interested in their own paychecks, they may treat their customers like trash, or might give favors to those they like most, or perhaps might concoct a plan to embezzle money from the government system. In the case of law enforcement, the police chief might justify giving preference to certain people over others when enforcing the law. Officers might choose to use their lethal weapons to settle a personal vendetta.
None of these scenarios even considered the rest of the people who are in the system, but not running it. Employees could steal assets from the factories. Government aid recipients could use fraud and deception to get money from the government. And so on.
For any system that involves people, it is people that will matter the most; they can make the system work well or they could use it to cause harm to others. As always, my point comes down to this: we all need to do the right things individually for our world to improve. This is the goal of Lightward Bound, to bring more light to our nation that will lead people to care about each other more, elevate truth rather than participate in deception, and take on a more honorable way of life.
In the scenarios above, we can imagine how things could go with this light that I am talking about. In the case of Capitalism, those running the factories would care about their customers and their employees. They might have some discussion with their employees to find out their concerns about working at the factory. As they learned of their concerns, they might implement new processes or expectations that ease some of the burdens of the employees. They might check in with them a few weeks later to see how the changes have helped. They would accept that there might be some increased costs with a less strenuous environment, but they may also find that happy workers are more productive. In turn, the workers may care more for the company managers and have a personal interest in the success of the company.
With Socialism and with this light being dominant among the people, we might see government leaders genuinely creating policies and programs that benefit people, but also balance things so that everyone is expected to contribute to the degree that they are able. And the people in the system likely would accept that they need to do their fair share as fellow beneficiaries of the system. They would likely care enough for others in the system that they wouldn’t want to be a burden to the others contributing to the system and they likely would be willing to contribute to the system so that others who struggle and are less capable would still have their needs met.
I feel that I can’t emphasize it enough that we all make our system work well or poorly, whatever system it is. As individuals, we can choose to be part of the reason the system will one day work well for all. Though there may always be some rogue elements, I’m sure that we currently have a lot of room for improvement. And I believe improvement is possible. Please help by doing your part. Work on how you look at the people around you. They are like you in so many ways and don’t deserve mistreatment. Care about them enough to look for the good in them, because everyone has some good. Care enough to avoid harm through careless or intentional actions. Care enough to strive to keep your own human shortcomings from burdening others. Care enough to help people when you have the resources and they have a need. Also, remember that after caring, truth is paramount because lies and deceptions will destroy unity.
Instead of arguing about political or economic systems, let’s fill the system we have with the light that will brighten everyone’s lives!