Capitalism (Pro) vs Socialism (Con)

The countries that currently have democratic socialists as their governing party are the Philippines, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Bolivia, Greece, Peru, Venezuela, Brazil, Portugal, and Armenia. Please tell me which of these "powerful" and "wealthy" countries have the strong and effective economy of which you claim that comes with Democratic socialism. The nation of Bolivia has a poverty rate of 45%, GDP of only 33 billion and has an average income per person is $6746 so, please tell me where their large and booming economies are. https://en.wikipedia.org... Capitalism does not encourage greed, but provides incentives and motivation. Greed causes the act of attacking and taking what belongs to others. Capitalism on the other hand drives emulation and encourages individuals to surpass others. This constant cycle of innovation and emulation to surpass another, grows civilization and society. Capitalism is forced altruism which betters society and can lead to greater acts of compassion, as more people have jobs and have more time to help others. That is why countries like the USA donates more money than poor countries like Vietnam. Capitalism is not just a system of minority privilege but rather helps the whole society. A society"s success requires a functional economy and capitalism does just that. With the free market, more companies can form and grow much more quickly. If you have a job, it is all because of private businesses and their successes that democratic socialism can not recreate. All businesses need people such as capitalists to attempt to create an innovation. Creating innovations that benefit society need incentives and Democratic Socialism does not provide this incentive. The vaccine to polio that saved many lives was created and funded by private institutions and businesses. The government had little help in this innovation. Capitalism does allow the existence of rich and wealthy elites but, that is nothing new. ALL economic systems result in a certain group of rich echelons that can easily create/destroy jobs. Even fully socialist nations such as Vietnam, Cuba, China and the USSR had wealthy echelons of society. https://en.wikipedia.org... Capitalism helps the working class since the wealthy elites are allowed to make more businesses by providing incentives. This increase in business leads to an increase in jobs, therefore billionaires aren"t the only people that gain from this system. While lots of people will just be working for these innovators of society, it is important to note that you are working. Jobs are not just created from thin air. As for your absurd claim, that capitalism allows corruption and bribery in elections is laughable. If, anyone has government and private corporations together, it is not capitalism but socialism. You have provided no evidence to back up your claims and even if the wealthy can fully control elections, what can we do? How can Democratic Socialism solve this problem? Why would Democratic Socialist governments and elections be so impervious to corruption? You make a completely unjustified claim but you provide no solution to your made-up problem. I have addressed several problems with Democratic Socialism and I provide solutions but where is your solution? That"s like me going to a doctor and all the doctor can say is that I have the flu then go on a tangent about me having the flu. When I go to a doctor, I expect a solution to my problems. Capitalism does have a sense of individualism, but one must remember of it"s benefits due to it"s forced altruism. Individualism is not evil in any way and it might be beneficial as it drives a need to better oneself. My opponent goes on to bring up environmental degradation, destruction of indigenous communities, colonialism, war and other forms of mass destruction. Environmental degradation is questionable and many statistics regarding human"s effect on the environment or global warming is questionable and no one really know how much is really "our" fault. In fact Capitalism might actually help the environment in some ways. If, you wish to talk about the environment, I would be glad to do so in another debate but this is a Capitalism vs Socialism debate regarding morality and efficiency. http://www.gongol.com... As for the destruction of indigenous communities, colonialism, war and other forms of mass destruction, THESE were all sponsored by government and further discredits your argument about needing more government to ensure equality in countries. My opponent then goes on and states that the top 0.1% has the same wealth as the bottom 90%. My opponent does not address as to why it is an issue and I have already stated in the last round about why income inequality exists and how it differs from inequity. It has nothing to do with people rigging the system but everything to do with cause and effect. First of all, the democratic socialist parties are not currently in power in the Nordic countries. Secondly the UK is relatively socialist with their labor party (35% of seats) which supports many of your democratic socialist views. The UK"s labor party was in power for several years but we have seen a decrease in popularity, not because UK citizens have suddenly become Capitalist pigs but have seen the inefficiencies of democratic socialism. You then attempt to claim that the only reason why the USA"s economy is faring better than the Nordic countries is because of it"s population growth. However, I decided to do some mathematics and concluded that population growth is not the main reason for it"s growth. (USA GDP growth to pop. growth (2.2:0.81) or 2.71604938 is still higher than Sweden GDP to population growth(1.5:0.7) or 2.14285714). I have never attempted to claim that all Socialism is identical, I am only arguing that all instances of Socialism simply fall short in comparison to Capitalist nations. The Socialist government does steal from people as it uses compulsory force to take your income from workers. Denmark tax rate per individual can be 51.95%, Norway is 46.9%, Sweden is 59.7%. The USA"s tax rate on the other hand is 39.6% and Hong Kong is only 15% . https://en.wikipedia.org... http://data.worldbank.org... http://data.worldbank.org... My opponent states this regarding my point to how Socialism steals labor and money due to wealth redistribution: "This is not stealing- it is merely changing the incomes". In order to change people"s income without massive inflation is by forced wealth redistribution. You are to take away money earned by others. You just advocated the textbook definition of communism. http://www.dictionary.com... As for my analogy about how me and my friend vote to beat you up and steal your money, you have completely misunderstood the whole thing. I was saying about no matter how democratic your acts of stealing and violence is, it still does not justify the act. Socialism has everything to do with guns because it is about government and how it should have a role in people"s lives. When governments pass laws and bills, they must enforce them through governmental agencies. The government puts people at gunpoint at force them to follow the law as this is how societies and countries operate. While social ownership of the means of production might seem nice to you, just remember who has to enforce these regulations and this economic system. My opponent then goes on and talks about how the Democratic Socialists of America has at times endorsed electoral candidates, notably including Walter Mondale, Jesse Jackson, Ralph Nader, John Kerry, Bernie Sanders, and Barack Obama. It is also worth noting how the Obama administration amassed $4.939T of debt and has barely created 269,319 jobs in a country with 318.86 million people. AND Bernie Sander has hardly created any jobs. On the other hand, capitalists like Ronald Reagan have created economic miracles and have seen many of their policies renew and strengthen our economy and job market. We see unemployment rates plummet and income wages rise for EVERYONE. We simply don"t need socialism. http://www.nytimes.com... http://www.realclearpolicy.com...