The Big Three Market DriversLearn Capital Flow AnalysisDo Companies Cheat Shareholders?Buybacks: The Fraud of the CenturySocialism vs. Free EnterpriseDo You Believe Official Statistics?Globalization: Good or Bad? | Subject: socialism Socialism refers to the various theories of economic organization advocating public or direct worker ownership and administration of the means of production and allocation of resources, and a society characterized by equal access to resources for all individuals with a method of compensation based on the amount of labor expended.
Most socialists share the view that capitalism unfairly concentrates power and wealth among a small segment of society that controls capital and derives its wealth through exploitation, creates an unequal society, does not provide equal opportunities for everyone to maximise their potential and does not utilise technology and resources to their maximum potential nor in the interests of the public.
Henri de Saint-Simon one of the founders of early socialism (Utopian Socialism), Friedrich Engels, and Karl Marx, writer of The Communist Manifesto advocated the creation of a society that allows for the widespread application of modern technology to rationalise economic activity by eliminating the anarchy of capitalist production. This would allow for wealth and power to be distributed based on the amount of work expended in production, although there is disagreement among socialists over how and to what extent this could be achieved.
Socialism is not a concrete philosophy of fixed doctrine and programme; its branches advocate a degree of social interventionism and economic rationalisation (usually in the form of economic planning), but sometimes oppose each other. A dividing feature of the socialist movement is the split between reformists and revolutionaries on how a socialist economy should be established. Some socialists advocate complete nationalisation of the means of production, distribution, and exchange; others advocate state control of capital within the framework of a market economy.
Socialists inspired by the Soviet model of economic development have advocated the creation of centrally planned economies directed by a state that owns all the means of production. Others, including Yugoslavian, Hungarian, German and Chinese communist governments in the 1970s and 1980s, instituted various forms of market socialism, combining co-operative and state ownership models with the free market exchange and free price system (but not free prices for the means of production). Modern social democrats propose selective nationalisation of key national industries in mixed economies, while maintaining private ownership of capital and private business enterprise. (In the 19th and early 20th century the term was used to refer to those who wanted to completely replace capitalism with socialism through reform.) Modern social democrats also promote tax-funded welfare programs and regulation of markets; many, particularly in European welfare states, refer to themselves as socialists, despite holding pro-capitalist viewpoints, thus adding ambiguity to the meaning of the term “socialist”. Libertarian socialism (including social anarchism and libertarian Marxism) rejects state control and ownership of the economy altogether and advocates direct collective ownership of the means of production via co-operative workers’ councils and workplace democracy.
Modern socialism originated in the late 18th-century intellectual and working class political movement that criticised the effects of industrialisation and private ownership on society. The utopian socialists, including Robert Owen (1771–1858), tried to found self-sustaining communes by secession from a capitalist society. Henri de Saint Simon (1760–1825), the first individual to coin the term socialisme, was the original thinker who advocated technocracy and industrial planning. The first socialists predicted a world improved by harnessing technology and combining it with better social organisation, and many contemporary socialists share this belief. Early socialist thinkers tended to favour an authentic meritocracy combined with rational social planning, while many modern socialists have a more egalitarian approach.
Vladimir Lenin, drawing on Karl Marx’s ideas of “lower” and “upper” stages of socialism[10] defined socialism as a transitional stage between capitalism and communism. (Wikipedia Feb 2010) Smooth sailing unlikely By John Schroy, on May 20th, 2010 |   Markets can be inefficient for different reasons and persist for long periods. The transition between one type of inefficient market to the next is usually a period of strife and uncertainty which may last five to fifteen years. Looking back at how the economy emerged from previous transitions, I note that in each new period, equity prices started at reasonable levels. This was true at the beginning of the Roaring Twenties, the Post WW II Period, and the Reagan Era. It is as if markets, recognizing prior inefficiencies ‘reset’ and start over. However, for the current market to ‘reset’, it will be necessary for equity prices to fall considerably, which will have dire consequences. US politics By John Schroy, on March 31st, 2010 |  Poorly written law can sometimes be successful when the vast majority of people agree with the intent and there is bipartisan support to correct errors. This is not the case with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010. However, the most astounding thing about Obamacare is that the individual mandate is basically a misnomer — there are no penalties on individuals for not buying health insurance. Or are there? ECRV2Y9MMZ86 What would Adam Smith say? By John Schroy, on March 11th, 2010 |  Most corporate executives of giant companies today are, in actuality, mere employees (‘workers’ in communist jargon) and are not capitalists or entrepreneurs at all. Their extraordinary remuneration schemes are provided without executives having employed or having risked any of their own capital and is often paid, even as a corporation slides into bankruptcy. Adam Smith recognized self-interest as a useful trait, but one that should not be allowed to override the nobler virtues. Featured articles on inside pages | Site navigation Capital Flow Watch has hundreds of articles on economics and investments. Articles have excerpts on the front pages, and on tag, category, search and archive pages.
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