Debate:​ Socialism is the best economic system

Pre-Debate Assignment (Individual):

1. List the THREE strongest arguments for your assigned system and analyze why it is the
superior system/ideology

2. List at least ONE potential counter-argument. How you will respond should it come up in
debate?

3. ​This is due on Google Classroom on Thursday 5/24/18

Argument 1:​ Socialism aided in the advancement of traditional societies that essentially needed
an imperative push forward. For instance, Hitler’s Mein Kampf inspired Mao’s Little Red Book
which strived for a cultural revolution and a shift from tradition to western advancements.
Despite the fact that his acts revolving around the cultural revolution such as the Great Leap
Forward lead to the deaths of millions as a result of starvation, this wasn’t a form of socialism,
but rather communism. Moreover, without Mao’s push for a cultural revolution, China wouldn’t
have experienced its advances in modern day as this is shown that in just 15 years it was capable
of beat the U.S. in technological advancements in bridge technology, space technology, and
computer science.

Argument 2: ​Capitalism creates social distinctions which has justified for injustice acts in the
past such as slavery, feminist revolts, and has permitted the rise of revolts from the common folk
as a elites have become more attracted towards gaining more wealth for themselves than the
concerns of society. Although, Capitalism creates competition which drives economic activity, it
isn’t as beneficial as it sounds, since most of it is unhealthy competition which leads towards
class distinctions and rural poverty.

Argument 3:​ Capitalist countries aren’t entirely free as they heavily restrict immigration.
Immigrants are required to get government permission to work here and it is almost impossible
to obtain it as a result of our growing society. With Socialism, it’s highly likely that these laws
will be repealed and mass international immigration would therefore occur. This would
significantly resolve the global poverty issue and inequality.

Potential Counter-argument:​ Socialism makes people lazy and reliant on the government,
whereas communism encourages individuals to work hard towards their goals which builds the
government and initiates the change. Socialism is terrible because it punishes those who have
strived hard to accumulate wealth, the government is practically stealing from the people!
Response (Argument 4) (Capitalism doesn’t take into consideration privilege): ​Let’s address
this in terms of privilege. Although capitalism has pushed individuals to work harder overtime
and has led to a couple of advances. It has also stifled change as it has led to the establishment of
the concept privilege overtime. Although there is the idea that success can be achieved if
individuals work hard towards their goals, this isn’t always true as it is at times dependent on our
race, gender, etc and hindered by our environmental factors and our birth order. Specifically, for
​
instance, in accordance to the ​The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights,​ a
​
study that for in order for ​Asian-American students to gain admission ​into Harvard, they have to
have SAT scores 140 points higher than white students, 270 points higher than Hispanic
students, and​ 450 points higher than African-American students. ​Capitalism has also shifted the
starting line for both the children of the elites and the lower class, whereas success is easier to
achieve for those children of the elites.

Works Cited:
https://fee.org/articles/is-capitalism-better-than-socialism-bryan-caplan-and-elizabeth-bruenig-de
bate-the-topic/
http://www.debate.org/opinions/polls/capitalism-vs-socialism
https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2017/10/a-federal-investigation-into-reverse-discr
imination-at-harvard/542220/