Communism In The 20th Century

Throughout the twentieth century, Communism and Capitalism held prominent places on the world stage. Capitalism reigned dominant over western nations such as the United States, United Kingdom, and France. They still do today. Communism ruled in nations including the Soviet Union, China, and Cuba. Many Communist nations collapsed over the twentieth century; but a few nations have held on, including China and Cuba. As the US trades with nations all over the world, the people need to understand how these different economies operate. Capitalism and Communism each have their own strengths and weaknesses; but Capitalism is the superior system. They each differ in the ownership of the means of production, distribution of wealth, and ideas of competition.

Major meaning heavy industries such as mining and steel. Richard Dagger and Terence Ball are both Professors of Political Science at Arizona State University. In reference to Communist leaders of the 20th century in their page titled “Communism” Dagger and Ball state that “party leaders established a command economy in which the state controlled property and its bureaucrats determined wages, prices, and production goals.” Rather than the consumers driving the decisions of businesses, the government is in complete control. This system has proven to be inept; especially for nations such as the Soviet Union. Vladimir Kontorovich, a professor of economics at Haverford College, wrote an article on the economic collapse of the Soviet Union, titled “The Economic Fallacy.” In his article he points out that the Soviet economy was only reported to be vigorous in the 20th century when “the Soviet economy turned out to be overly dependent on ever-increasing inputs of capital and labor, compared to those required in capitalist economies.” The centrally planned system required immense labor and resources that eventually it became unsustainable and too rigid to adjust to changing conditions. Capitalism takes more differences from Communism in it’s distribution of

According to Sarwat Jahan, an Economist in the International Monetary Fund’s Strategy, Policy, and Review Department; and Ahmed Saber Mahmud the Associate Director in the Applied Economics Program at Johns Hopkins University, call this principle self-interest. If the worker is incentivized with the prospect of profit, they will work harder. As stated by Jahan and Mahmud in their article for the International Monetary Fund, “As Adam Smith, the 18th century philosopher and father of modern economics, said: ‘It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest.’” The drive for profit brings businesses to the market of their own accord. When there is promise of reward for hard work, people will be more motivated. Communism on the other hand, divides the wealth in a quite different