Distorted Views on Capitalism and Socialism

Type socialism into Google image search and this is one of the first images you get:

Type Capitalism and this is also one of the first images you can get:

 This perfectly illustrates the politcal views towards these two systems of economic theory from a negative standpoint, in reality their pure imposition does not exist in the real world.

No nation is purely capitalistic nor is it purely socialist, the aspects of both are combined into mixed systems addressing economic and social factors of a nation. 

Socialist aspects like provision of welfare, education and healthcare are positive aspects of that system. Captilalist aspects of free trade, personal posession, commerce are positive aspects of that system. The exact mixture of these factors is the delicate balance imposed through leadership economically and politically. 

Both socialism and capitlism do not possess a polictial sphere. These are added through years of allusion through decades of Cold war tension. The USSR did not follow true socialism, it was a party of previleged power over the masses, not the power of the masses. It is impenetrable, it is a cadre dictating over everyone else. Nor is capitalism freedom, it is the freedom of business, it doesn't care who loses and gains it only cares about the fact that you can have free transaction and are free to possess what you make. 

I remember my classroom before the USSR collapsed, we had the walls lined with spectacular anti-American and anti-Capitalistic posters. Things like this:

This one reads: “The purpose of Capitalism is always the same: Exploitation. Oppression. War. So that suffering and poor people bring it maximum profit”

 Similary in America socialism was quickly evoled into Communism, everything from propaganda films, to posters to books.

In this way over time both continents started to develop a distorted view of both these systems because now we had a political spheres attachment to both capitalism and socialism. Regean capitalized on these aspects by being rabidly anti-communist, and anti-government all while going through Iran-Contra, Star Wars, and increased military expansionism.

So did the Russians, pumping more military money and spending based on a fatalistic policy of military and politicaly aggressiveness from Stalinism, pouring vast amounts into armament.

This is how now in America it is seemingly possible to use the words 'big government' and 'universal healthcare' as scarecrows to the American people.  Oh you have universal healthcare? COMMUNISM!!!

Similarily leftists use capitalism to prove that free trade is destroying nations and livelyhoods. Without realizing that their own political leaders actually impose trade restrictions so that they benefit over third world nations. 

 At the end of the day both these things are not self containted idealogies, they are simply systems of economic theory and scarce resource allocation. But over the years we have started to attach our own preceptions about what they stand for by themselves, as if these words have power by themselves, an intellectual disease that corrupts the actions of men.

This is a fallacy I believe, I never thought communism was to blame for the way my nation was, I always knew it was the politburo in Kremlin. I never thought capitalism was to blame for what happened when we got independence and everything was sold off for cheap, I knew it was failed leadership and poor policy.

Leadership is what takes the tools of theoretical discourse, and formulates it into policy that is implemented. But too often we forget the leaders and focus on the theory behind it.

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