Critique: Capitalism

Capitalism is based on the Darwinian concept of survival of the fittest. While I am aware of no nation that practices a pure form of this economic system, several Western countries use a form of capitalism at the core of their economies. Scaled-down examples of capitalism are flea markets, bazzars and black market trading.

Properties of Capitalism

Social/cultural rules and political laws define the environment. Supply and demand provide environmental pressures. Those that best "fit" that environment survive and maintain the rules/laws. Those that can't/don't thrive in the system, and otherwise lack participation, are culled. Successful capitalistic systems tend to be open and competitive. A healthy capitalistic system results in economic incentives.

Advantages of Capitalism

Capitalism is an internally stable economic system, in that it is consistent with human behaviour. People understand that life is not fair - there's no "free lunch". You have to work to survive, and only the lucky who manage to thrive within the socio-economic matrix make it to the top. As long as there is a belief/hope that one can advance in the system, there is an incentive to participate. Capitalism is also externally stable, in that survival in a capitalistic system requires innovation and flexibility to keep up with the changes in supply and demand. Such a system is generally prepared to deal with the influx of competition from external sources. Large populations are likely to be diverse, which is beneficial to healthy capitalistic systems. Large, diversified societies tend to gravitate towards hierarchical social systems; capitalism easily adapts to such structures.

Disadvantages of Capitalism

It is not acceptable in most modern societies to allow portions of their population to be "culled". Those in power tend to construct rules that limit diversity and competition, thereby weakening the flexibility and strength of the system as a whole. A vast imbalance in opportunity encourages revolt, which disrupts and destabilizes the system.

Remedies for the Excesses/Weaknesses of Capitalism

Create secondary social mechanisms to support those that do not "fit" in the socioeconomic system. Encourage the inclusion of all members of the population to compete, and open up competition to external markets, in order to maximize diversity and flexibility. Educate the elite to the systemic benefits of resource distribution, and encourage incentives for such distribution.

Critique: Communism
Communism is based on the concept of shared effort and shared resources. No existent nation practices pure communism, and I know of no self-sustaining country that uses communism as a basis for their economy. Successful, scaled-down examples of communism include early Christian congregations, kibitzes and cooperatives.

Properties of Communism

All members of the economy share both work and benefits. Those that do not provide their share of effort and resources to the system are culled. Successful communistic systems tend to be small and homogeneous. A healthy communistic system results in a cooperative society.

Advantages of Communism

Communism is an internally stable economic system, in that those that participate benefit and those that don't are culled - creating an incentive to participate. Communism requires common goals and agreed upon rules/laws to allocate responsibilities and resources. If successful, this leads to a spirit of sharing - which builds stronger social communities, creating a stabler economy. Due to their sense of cooperation, healthy communistic systems are very efficient at distributing resources within their localized areas - particularly in times of need.

Disadvantages of Communism

Large or geographically broad populations tend to be diverse, making it difficult to maintain a common goal or set of rules for shared effort and resources. Large, diversified societies tend to gravitate towards systems of hierarchy, reducing the perception of fair distribution of work and resources - which can destabilize a communistic society. Allowing an influx of external culture increases the likelihood of destabilizing the homogeneity of the society. As such, communistic systems tend to block out external cultures and exclude outside competition, weakening the system's ability to learn from, or compete with, external economies.

Remedies for the Excesses/Weaknesses of Communism

Keep the society small and homogeneous, and minimize hierarchies. Block out external cultural influences and control external trade.

Critique: Socialism
Socialism is based on the concept of everyone gets their share. This economic system exists in those environments where resources are plentiful, or populations are extremely small (such as family units).

Properties of Socialism

All members of the economy share benefits, regardless of their economic value to the system. Successful socialistic systems depend on sufficient resources for the entire population. A healthy socialistic system results in non-economic productivity.

Advantages of Socialism

In environments with plentiful resources, socialism provides all members with their survival needs, creating a stable social environment. Members that cannot participate economically - due to disabilities, age, or periods of poor health - can still impart wisdom, emotional support and continuity of experience to the system. Freedom from work provides opportunity for some societal members to explore noneconomically-productive pursuits, such as pure science, math and non-popular arts.

Disadvantages of Socialism

Since there is no culling and no economic advantage to working harder, socialistic systems provide no inherent incentive to participate. This makes socialism internally unstable. Due to a lack of incentives, socialistic systems tend not to be competitive, making them externally unstable. In times of plenty, immigrants are drawn to the free resources offered by socialistic systems, while potentially adding nothing economically productive. In times of scarcity, resentment of non-economically-productive members of society increases, causing a destabilizing effect on the society and economy.

Remedies for the Excesses/Weaknesses of Socialism

Avoid scarcity of resources. Keep out immigrants.

Comparisons: Capitalism vs Communism vs Socialism

In an isolated world of plenty, socialism provides everyone with what they want and encourages creative exploration. However, since external forces and internal disasters exist, socialism is unsuitable as the principal basis for a long-term economy. In an isolated, homogeneous society with a common goal and belief system, communism provides all participants with a fair share of the workload and resources. This works well for small communities, particularly for non-diversified societies. However, it is becoming increasingly difficult in this shrinking world to maintain cultural isolation; diversity makes communism unsuitable as a core economy for most modern nations. For all its woes regarding class discrepancies, and the tendency of the elite to constrain opportunities to themselves, capitalism is the most inherently stable economic system - it benefits from diversity and external competition. A healthy capitalistic economy also provides built-in incentives to its members to increase their economic participation in the system. However, to maintain its health, the power elite of a capitalistic society must encourage certain societal behaviours/rules/laws:

Diversity of cultures and methods. Open competition and free trade. Free/open access to public information and basic education/training. In times of plenty: support for non-economically-productive creativity. In times of need: distribution of resources.

The above system describes an economy based principally on capitalism, but with added aspects of socialism when resources are plentiful, and aspects of communism when the need arises.