Socialism Sucks Reflection

Before this class, I did not thoroughly study different markets relating to governments or understand what socialism and capitalism was. I was under the impression that socialism was directly connected to economic fairness and capitalism was a way that monopolies in markets existed. After watching the video lecture, I have a clearer picture of what each of those are. I appreciated the analogies brought up when discussing each country. When explaining his experience in each of the countries he visited, there was a clear and obvious takeaway from each country. After analyzing and digesting the video lecture, I think that capitalism has more benefit not only for the country but also the people who live there, as well as people from marginalized communities can flourish from adopting capitalism rather than socialism.

Cuba and the Koreas

The statistics brought up in the video about the growing popularity of socialism can have a lot to say about society. I think people connect capitalism directly to monopolies and unjust money hungry billionaires. However, socialism creates a monopoly almost immediately with government regulated businesses. You can see that when the Dr. Powell talks about Cuba. He explained his experience with a hotel that was government regulated and of very poor quality. The elevators were broken and there were busted windows on the outside. The bathrooms were broken and there was soap leftover from the last guest. Overall, the hotel was poor quality and the service and overall experience reflected that. This hotel was government regulated. They showed little to no effort in customer experience. This is an example of how socialism shaped the economy in Cuba. The elimination of competition in the market therefore caused a depletion in quality and incentive to maintain a positive customer experience. The hotel simply did not care about providing a good quality service because there were virtually no competitors, and they did not have to worry about profiting off potential customers. This happens when there is no competition in the marketplace. Competition increases the need to constantly provide the best service possible for customers. On the contrary, the room offered to him by a Cuban waitress was much better quality for around the same price range. The difference was that the woman offering the room was an entrepreneur that wanted to make a profit. The woman understood the importance of attracting new customers and knew she had to provide a good quality room. This proves that individual entrepreneurs have an incentive to create good quality experiences for potential customers. I think it is important to understand that socialism does not encourage innovation. Under capitalism, however, there is a will to create something that is new and exciting to attract customers. Socialism produces average and below average service and quality. The next countries of focus were North and South Korea. Dr. Powell emphasized how economic layout can drastically change the way a country runs. After the Korean war, North and South Korea split. North Korea adopted a socialism system while South Korea adopted a capitalism system. Clearly, South Korea flourished, and North Korea did not. This shows how drastically things can turn in a negative direction under socialism.

China’s Growth

The main points from this video lecture prove my argument that socialism is not the solution to issues with marginalized groups, but capitalism is a better solution. Many groups of people seek economic freedom and flee from their countries into more capitalist places. Capitalism is more beneficial because people have freedom to create profit for themselves while simultaneously helping the economy. China is a perfect example of how capitalism can bring marginalized groups out of poverty. After the reform in China, many people had a chance to expand entrepreneurially. The Pudong district, which was once poor, now is a home for many successful businesses.

My Own Experience

This can be true for many groups in America. There is an opportunity to make money that was once impossible in their own countries. My best friend's parents came from Venezuela seeking this is act opportunity. While Venezuela was under harsh socialist conditions, they came to America and took advantage of economic opportunity. They now have a successful restaurant. This would have never been possible in their home country because of the economic and political conditions. This a common story that is told my many immigrants. It is truly beautiful how economic freedom can drastically change someone's life. Capitalism has more benefit not only for the country but also the people who live there, as well as people from marginalized communities can flourish from adopting capitalism rather than socialism.