Capitalism Or Socialism?

This is a very short article. I will build on it in due course.

Capitalism or socialism – that is the question? I am concerned here purely with economics, namely the goods and services we can expect under both systems, and the leisure time we can enjoy. Which?

One of the big claims made by socialists is that capitalism promotes inequality. And?

Wouldn’t you rather be fairly wealthy in a world of inequality or as poor as all your neighbours in say, North Korea?

Which delivers the goods and services?

In his classic Tragedy & Hope (at page 889), Professor Quigley points out that Soviet soldiers were amazed to learn that ordinary Germans had a far higher standard of living than them, that they owned wristwatches, for example.

Little has changed since he wrote those words half a century ago, in short, socialism does not deliver the goods and services.

The photograph below was taken shortly before the collapse of the Soviet Union. It shows Muscovites queuing up to buy milk and dairy products. Did you ever see a queue like that outside an American supermarket?

Again, socialism does not deliver the goods, On the contrary, capitalism does. Now here is the but, and it is an enormous one.

Under capitalism, the shops are full, there is an excess rather than a dearth of goods and services. So why then do so many go bankrupt? Why is there any poverty at all?

That question will be answered in my next article on this subject.