What is Capitalism? What is Socialism? [View all]

[Humanist_Activist]

Oooh boy, is this a complicated subject, and a warning, boring as hell as well.

First things first, some basic, and I do mean bare-bones basic definitions:

Capitalism: An Economic system where the means of production is controlled by and owned by a few private owners for profit and accumulation of Capital.

Socialism: An Economic system where the means of production is controlled by and owned by workers, usually non-profit.

Note, in either case, the state doesn't necessarily have to exist, having publicly owned sectors of the economy, for example, certain heavy industries, public utilities, etc. is not Socialism because the workers in these industries/companies don't own the means of production directly, otherwise public sector unions wouldn't have to be a thing.

Now, within these definitions there are a LOT of variations, under both economic systems, especially how they relate to the state and the role of government.

In Capitalism, you have An-Caps(not true anarchists), Libertarians, Liberals, Keynesians, Social Democrats, Fascists, etc.

In Socialism you have Anarchists, Libertarian-Socialists(think Zapitistas), Democratic Socialists, Anarcho-Syndicalists, Communists, etc.

Generally speaking the spectrum from Authoritarian to libertarian, in the political sense, can vary a lot. Though the trend in Capitalism is a more vertical power structure whereas Socialism favors a more horizontal power structure. The problem is that our views of both are skewed heavily by our current place in time and what was necessary to get here.

If you were to go back in time 100 years ago, Capitalism has, so far, lead to worst outcomes that Feudalism for the majority of the population of the world. It took the struggle and death of thousands of workers in Europe and the Americas to get the nominal social democracies we have now that makes Capitalism palpable for the majority of the population in those countries. Even then its far from complete.

Of course, also about 100 years ago, the so called Ur-example of socialism came about, at least the first that was long term and on the nation-state level. The Soviet Union was born from a civil war that saw them have nearly no allies, fighting against an incompetent and autocratic feudal lord, and they industrialized quickly after that. But, feeling they were under siege since the beginning, and thanks to some of the actions of countries in the west, Stalinism reigned supreme, and he was no better than the Czar. This formula was then repeated on a worldwide level through Maoism, Pol Pot, North Korea, etc. Autocrats and authoritarians seized on an opportunity to rule their nations with an iron fist, and used Socialism as a vehicle to do so. Similar to how Fascists did the same with Capitalism.

There were and are other examples of Socialism that exist, most on small scales because neither the Soviets nor the Capitalists liked competition when it comes to economic systems, and most were ruthlessly crushed through military campaigns and coups when they were attempted elsewhere. There are exceptions, the Republic of Nepal comes to mind, though it arose after the Soviet Union fell, forming a new constitution and Democratic Republic through consensus of its two Communist parties and coalition governments in 2015. Socialist and Communist parties also have played a part in coalition governments and electoral majorities in nations such as in South Asia, Europe, South America, Africa, etc. There are also democratically controlled autonomous areas in nations such as Mexico that govern themselves on some type of Socialist principles.

Not saying any of these are perfect, but claiming that Socialism leads to Authoritarianism is no more true than it is for Capitalism.