Capitalism vs Socialism

Recently I have been following a discussion on capitalism vs socialism which has occurred on a Facebook page.  Since the discussion appears to be among a group of young adults, I'm not sure that my Senior Citizen viewpoint would be appreciated, but here it is....


Although I personally prefer capitalism, I believe both systems have major problems...and not because they are inherently flawed as systems.  The real problem is in the nature of man.  Both systems could potentially work, but both can also be corrupted and break down because of greed on the part of the people implementing them.


In the case of capitalism, there is opportunity for those on the upper levels of the hierarchy to amass wealth and become forgetful of the need to be compassionate and giving.  In an early blog, I railed against this, when in the same week I saw a video about the gold plated seat belt clips on Donald Trump's plane and encountered a young black girl in a drug store begging for money to buy sanitary napkins.  (See Excess vs Need, 8/24/11) But, within capitalism, there are those who are in positions of power who are not self-serving, and give generously of their resources.  There just aren't enough of them.


In the case of socialism, the opportunity to secretly hoard wealth is still present.  Additionally the possibility exists of many individuals developing a sense of entitlement.  I have certainly seen cases of that in the elements of our society where socialism currently comes into play.  People who claim not to have sufficient skills or ability to work, seem to have the ability to play the system for all it's worth; disabilities are faked; payments from the government are fraudulently obtained.


So the real problem isn't socialism vs capitalism.  The real problem is within the heart of man.  We are all capable of being self-serving.  Some of us are "kept in line" by the belief that we will one day have to account for our behavior before a divine judge.  Other people seem to be able to pull this off without that threat hanging over them.  However, many among us see nothing wrong with looking out for #1.  Neither capitalism nor socialism is going to change that.


I am looking forward to the day when the world will be ruled by a "benevolent dictator."  As a Christian, I believe that Christ will return one day to straighten out all of these messes.  In the meantime, I'm afraid it is going to get worse before it gets better, and neither capitalism nor socialism nor a human dictator can bring about Utopia.