Do you know what Socialism and Capitalism are? Both of these economic systems can be very similar but very different at the same time. Capitalism and Socialism each exist in many countries throughout the world, and there are variations of each of these from country to country. Sometimes politics get tied up into each of these and then it becomes more difficult to tell what kind of system there is. As you read on, we’ll look at the differences and similarities of Socialism and Capitalism, so we can focus on some key ideas.

Let’s start with their differences. Socialism got it’s start with Robert Owen. He believed that the power of a country should fall into the hands of the workers. However, Adam Smith was one who supported Capitalism. He believed in a free market or as he put it a laissez-faire system that emphasized competition in market. In Socialism, every citizen will give their taxes to the government who will fund them with equal housing, medical care, education, and transportation. On the other hand, Capitalism is more competitive. An individual works to become richer for himself, so that he can have better housing, healthcare, and education. In a country with Socialism the emphasis is that all people should be given equal wealth, and they are treated equally. There is no rich or poor; the people all have basic access to life’s basic needs. In a country with Capitalism the emphasis is that you have to compete to be successful. Every person in a capitalist society is expected to try and get the best education and make the most money so that they will have access to the best things in life for themselves and their families. The people of a Capitilist Society do not all have equal access to wealth, education, or healthcare.

Despite all of these differences, they are not completely different. First they are both types of economic systems. They both look at how the economy can be used to benefit the people, and they both can help mankind move forward.  In addition, they are found in countries all around the world, and the ideas of each were founded during the Industrial Revolution. Each system uses production of goods to help people live life to the fullest. Both systems have freedom of religion because the emphasis in on economics.They don’t care what your religion is because it doesn’t interfere with the work that you do. Finally, each economic system may have alterations in the country it exists in. For example, the United States is a Capitalist Society but still taxes the people to help pay for the roads and education of all people. Meanwhile Canada is a Socialist country, but the people still may have different levels of wealth and education. These two neighboring countries are just the start of the variations that can be in each type of system.

As you can see, there are a lot of similarities and differences between Socialism and Capitalism. Both are systems in the world that we have today. Socialism is give equal access to the people type of system and Capitalism is about the competition among people. Both of them were founded in the Industrial Revolution and impact wealth, housing, education, healthcare, and transportation. They both effect how much taxes there are, and how many social programs to be around in a country. Many people might think that one of these systems is better than the other. These differences are often why people argue over economics or politics. But the real question is which system do you think is best?