Socialism

Socialism is one of the most used forms of government since it was coined. Despite the ancients running similar systems, it has taken a different form in each place, depending on regions. The different forms all have similar core principles. Yet they do differ in the smaller factors. It conquered many nations with its promises of equality and high social benefits. The equality of the systems draws so many to their ideas. They are generally simple and offer a sense of equality, but they deliver few results that consolidate power in the ruling elite. As this system has been tried, it has not always been successful. It is a system of government control that lacks personal ownership and offers little room for dissent. Socialism will ultimately depend on everyone working together to make the system function, but it will still suffer from financial difficulties. Over a hundred years, the results have spoken: socialism has proven it struggles without elements of capitalism to address financial issues.

An early form of socialism was used in the first settlements that founded the United States of America. Both the founding of Jamestown, now Virginia, and that of Plymouth Plantation, now Massachusetts, involved some form of socialism. (The Pilgrims and Private Property: What the Pilgrims Might Have Thought About Communism & Socialism, 2017) The food gathered was then given to all, despite the effort put into working. This did not nearly provide enough lazy workers who did nothing to earn it. This system failed in both settlements. In Jamestown, the rule had to be put in place that work was the only way to get food. In Plymouth, they were eventually given their own spot of land and provided their own food. This brought more prosperity to the colony than anything else, providing everything. The system was abandoned as the incentive to do better was under an early form of capitalism. (Ptak, 2025)

There are many types of socialism, including basic socialism, communism, and fascism, with communism being the most popular. Socialism can serve as a basis for many governments worldwide. The basic socialist government only owns the major industries, with limited freedom for smaller businesses. Fascism will also uphold this value, but control is maintained by a dictator who leans more toward nationalism. Communism is the most extreme subset with ultimate control over the entire population, owning nothing, and embracing collectivism. (Courtois et al., 1999) Each has led the government exert greater control over the common people's lives. There is also a ruling class that cannot be touched or questioned. Government control is still a given in all three, which can lead to abuse of power. This has resulted in millions of deaths in certain dictatorships in the last century. (Courtois et al., 1997)

The promise of socialism is that of the perfect society. The offerings of everyone and everything are equal, and they work together in perfect harmony, at least in their propaganda. Each government has sold this with leaders sounding like they are for the people's rights. The only drawback is that the leaders never seem to benefit the people. The leaders take charge and simply force their will and ways on their constituents, giving them the scraps. This promise has never come true since they simply replaced another large government leadership. This is when the government can do anything without anything stopping them, which could lead to abuse. Citizens' rights are stripped only of what the government gives them. The propensity for abuse is much higher with unanswerable power of dictators such as Stalin and Hitler. The promise of equality will never be delivered by a ruling body that is not required to follow the rules. The promise sounds good, but in fact, it is just a facade to gain all the power.

The incentivization of hard work in socialism is also another problem. The reason to work has no benefit. They will be more abusive than unchecked companies with no recompense for human rights violations. This will then turn into a system of just supporting everyone, regardless of whether they are working or not. This will lead to a tendency toward laziness in humanity. If work is not required, why should anyone put effort into it? This was seen in both Jamestown and Plymouth as their policies had to change. When the need to work arose after some changes, there was plenty of food. The entitled workers gave half effort and still were fed. There was no reason for them to help all of mankind as one of the promises of socialism. There is no incentive to do anything when there is no need. This is why, when they commit, collectivism is tried; it always seems to fail at some level. The incentive to become better or produce more is never realized. The system simply runs into financial ruin and falls apart. This was evident in the USSR's long history of crashes after going bankrupt. (Miller, 2016)

Without Capitalism, Socialism can exist and survive. China, for the longest time, was in financial ruin and lacked enough resources, which reflected in its many oppressive policies. Then, with investments from around the world and business being allowed in, it became more profitable. The interconnecting systems brought new life and privileges for even the workers, allowing economic growth. This hybrid still lets socialism run even in European nations, but gives a way to produce some profit. With investments, money was put into the system, and more non-government jobs were created for workers. (Cartier, 2011, pp. 27-33) With this combination, some nations that the Soviet Union, aka the USSR, failed to revive were revived. (History of Ukraine, 2024) The lack of capitalism in these systems will only spell doom, as some nations will falter without good economic systems.

On paper, socialism sounds great with its promises of equality and social harmony. Many nations have tried these systems in the hope of improving their lives. Only to discover that power went to one leader, with supplies and benefits denied, abuse can surface too easily. The incentive for workers to work harder disappears when there is no extra benefit. Even with some help from capitalist ideas, which will help keep their economies afloat. Socialism has its failures it has been tried since Marx first coined the term. As the East Berliners ran to the West to escape, as the needing for the Berlin Wall. (East Berliners Flee to the West (September 16, 1961), 1961)