Capitalism Versus Socialism

The [wage] labourer sells his very self, ( His or Her Country) and that by fractions.... He [belongs, is a slave] to the capitalist class; and it is for him ... to find a buyer in this capitalist class.

The truth of the matter; THERE EXISTS BUT TWO CHOICES: SOCIALIST CAPITALISM, OR TOTALITARIAN CAPITALISM.

What is Capitalism?

The word capitalism is now quite commonly used to describe the social system in which we now live. It is also often assumed that it has existed, if not forever, then for most of human history. In fact, capitalism is a relatively new social system; coming into existence only a couple of hundred years ago. This is why so many people; though they talk extensively; claim one will save the world while the other destroy it; do not have the first clue of what they are taking about.

SURPRISE, SURPRISE

Capitalism is the social system, which exists in all countries of the world. Under Capitalism the means for producing and distributing goods (the land, factories, technology, transport system etch) are owned by a small minority of people(!% of the world’s population. I will refer to this group of people as the capitalist class. The majority of people must sell their ability to work in return for a wage or salary (who I shall refer to as the working class.)

The working class (include our democratically elected career politicians and our puppet WOULD BE DICTATORIAL governments) is paid to produce goods and services which are then sold for a profit.

The capitalist class gains the actual, REAL, profit; because they can make more money selling what we have produced than we cost to buy on the labour market. In this sense, the capitalist class exploits the working class. The capitalists live off the profits they obtain from exploiting the working class whilst reinvesting some of their profits for the further accumulation of wealth.

This is what I mean when I say there are ONLY two classes in society. It is a claim based upon simple facts about the society we live in today. This class division is the essential feature of capitalism. It may be; and usually is; popular AMONG CAREER POLITICIANS; ESPECIALLY THE PUPPET POLITICAL ORGANISATIONS WE LAUGHINGLY REFER TO AS OUR GOVERNMENTS??? to talk; (usually vaguely) about various other 'classes' existing such as the 'middle class', but it is the two classes defined here that are the key to understanding capitalism.

Capitalism is an economic system in which trade, industry, and the means of production Are Privately Owned And Operated To Maximize Profit, With The Price System Providing Very Easily, Artificially Manipulated Price Signals for the factors of production.

Central characteristics of capitalism include private property, capital accumulation, wage labour and, in some situations, fully Non-competitive markets. In a capitalist market economy, investments are determined by private decision, and the parties to a transaction, typically determine the prices at which they exchange assets, goods, and services.

The ACTUAL degree of competition in markets, the role of intervention, regulation, and the scope Of State Ownership Vary, across Different Models of Capitalism; economists, political economists, and historians have adopted different perspectives in their analyses of capitalism and have recognized various forms of it in practice. These include laissez-faire or free market capitalism, welfare capitalism and state capitalism (which now days we often refer to as SOCIALISM). Each model has employed varying degrees of dependency on free markets, public ownership, obstacles to free competition, and inclusion of state-sanctioned social policies.

The extents to which different markets are free, as well as the rules defining private property, become matters of politics and of policy. Many federal and or provincial states have a mixed economy, which combines elements of both free markets with state interventionism, and in some cases, with economic planning. Capitalism has existed under many forms of government, in many different times, places, and cultures. Following the decline of mercantilism, mixed capitalist systems became dominant in the Western world and continue to spread rampantly.

The means of production (or capital goods) and the means of consumption (or consumer goods) are mainly produced for market sale; output is produced with the intention of sale in an open market; only through sale of output, can the owner of capital claim part of the surplus-product of human labour, and make profits. Equally, the inputs of production are supplied through the market, as commodities. The prices of both inputs and outputs are mainly governed by the market laws of supply and demand (and ultimately by the law of value). In short, a capitalist must use money (USUALLY TAXPAYER MONEY)to fuel both the means of production and labour in order to make commodities. These commodities are then sold to the market for a profit. The profit once again becomes part of a larger amount of capital, which the capitalist reinvests to make more commodities, and ultimately more and more capital.

Private ownership of the means of production ("private enterprise") as effective TOTAL DICTATORSHIP Control And/or Enforced Ownership, With The Consequence That Investment And Management Decisions Are Made By Private Owners Of Capital Who Act Autonomously From Each Other And, Because Of Business Secrecy And The Constraints Of Competition, Do Not Coordinate Their Activities According To Collective, Conscious Planning. Enterprises are able to set their own output prices within the framework manifested through the market, and the development of production technology is guided  only by profitability criteria.

The overall aim of capitalist production, under competitive pressure, is:

1.   to maximise net profit income (or realise a net superprofit) as much as possible, through cutting production costs, increasing sales, and monopolisation of markets and supply,

2.   capital accumulation, to acquire productive and non-productive assets,

3.   to privatise both the supply of goods and services and their consumption. The larger portion of the surplus product of labour must, usually, be reinvested in production, since output growth and accumulation of capital mutually depend on each other.

Out of preceding Characteristics of the Capitalist Mode of Production, The Basic Class Structure of This Mode of Production Society Emerges:

1.  a class of owners and managers of private capital assets in industries and on the land

·         a class of wage and salary earners,

·          a permanent reserve army of labour consisting of unemployed people, and various intermediate classes such as the self-employed (small business and farmers)

·         the “new middle classes” (educated or skilled professionals on higher salaries).

The finance of the capitalist state is heavily dependent on levying taxes from the population and on credit; that is, the capitalist state would normally lack any autonomous economic basis (such as Crown Corporations- Crown/Taxpayer owned industries or landholdings) that would guarantee sufficient income to sustain government activities.

The capitalist state MOST OFTEN defines an Illegal Framework For Commerce, Civil Society And Politics, which specifies public and private rights and duties, as well as legitimate property relations.~~Al (Alex-Alexander) D Girvan.