Democratic Socialism (Pro) vs. Free-Market Capitalism (Con)

"The United States is as I have stated earlier in the previous round, nowhere near a free market system."On the contrary, according to the Heritage Foundation (A think-tank and self-proclaimed advocate for free enterprise and limited government) the USA has the 10th most free economy in the world. In addition, it also states that from the period from 2001 to 2006, the USA had an incredibly high 'financial freedom' score of 90, despite the previously mentioned interest rate lowering (followed by an almost immediate rise).In addition, according to Questia,"The free market economy is used in many countries throughout the world including the United States, viewed as a leader in the field."According to the Con, "If proper interest rates had been maintained credit would have remained more stable and Wallstreet would not have had the ability to lend out risky amounts of capital."However, surely Wallstreet's ability to lend out risky amounts of capital is not so much to do with interest rates, but with regulations on the financial sector? The Garn St. Germain depository institutions act, which I mentioned previously"Allowed savings and loans to make commercial, corporate, business or agricultural loans of up to 10% of their assets.""The Con once again displays a lack of understanding as to how the American health care system works. The comparison here is faulty. The United State's health care system is hardly a free market in any sense of the term and to compare it to a socialist model like Sweden is a false dichotomy. Therefore the comparison to Sweden is not only incorrect but irrelevant."Note that in my previous argument, I referred to the US healthcare system as "free-market dominated" not "free market". In addition, the fact is that unlike countries such as the United Kingdom and Sweden, which do have socialist healthcare policies, the US has over 1,000 healthcare insurance providers, competing for service with one another. And as the Con said in his first argument," "Free market" essentially means that producers are free to enter a line of business and sell their products at whatever price they can charge; meanwhile consumers are free to buy whatever products they want at whatever price they are willing to accept."Am I right in thinking that the Con believes that too much government intervention is detrimental to a country's system of healthcare? If so, then how is it that Sweden's system, as I have previously demonstrated, which effectively has 100% government intervention, outperforms the USA's, which is fundamentally composed of a myriad of for-profit organisations?I shall now adress the issue of regulation which the Con touched upon several times in his previous argument. Since many advocates of total free-market capitalism often like to claim how restrictive regulations are to the economy, I believe the best way to counter this is with an example of when a lack of regulations did not (as in my example of the 2008 financial crisis) cause a banking crisis that spiralled into a huge recession, causing millions around the world to lose their jobs and homes, but caused an explosion at West fertilizer chemical plant in Texas, killing 14 people and injuring more than 200- according to the Royal Society of Chemistry,"During a Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee hearing on 27 June, CSB Chairman Rafael Moure-Eraso stated that ammonium nitrate fertiliser storage ‘falls under a patchwork of US safety standards and guidance’. He said the holes include a lack of federal, state or local rules restricting storage of large amounts of ammonium nitrate near homes schools and hospitals."In addition, other nations have far sticter regulations imposed, and clearly for the better-"Other nations have gone much further than the US on ammonium nitrate safety. The UK recommends dedicated, noncombustible storage buildings and noncombustible bins, Moure-Eraso noted. In the US, even the most current National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standard allows ammonium nitrate to be stored in wooden buildings and in wooden bins, and does not mandate automatic sprinkler systems unless more than 2500 tons is being stored. That threshold vastly exceeds the approximately 30 tons of ammonium nitrate that devastated West Fertilizer."ConclusionUnregulated capitalism, at its worst, does not only cause recessions and people's livelihoods, but also their lives.Sources: http://www.heritage.org...;http://www.questia.com...;http://www.marketoracle.co.uk...; http://www.slideshare.net...http://www.rsc.org...;