Karson Younger
From Forbes
Question link: https://www.gradnium.com/gradnium/@moneybagley/week-04-the-current-realities-of-socialism-around-the-world-discussion-questions
@moneybagley asks
With countries and economies becoming successful using socialism, what parts of American culture keep the country Capitalist?
First and foremost, socialism has not made a country successful. In the lecture, "Socialism Sucks: Two Economists Drink Their Way Through the Unfree World, " the speaker shows examples of how socialism can completely destroy an economy, in the case of Venezuela, or it can halt its growth, in the case of Cuba. Countries with high healthcare and other similar benefits are indeed not socialist. They do not have any more economic growth but do fine because of their built-up wealth. America is different, we are full a full capitalist nation. We are founded on the notion that we are free to do anything (within the law) that we want, which includes how we spend our money. The main reason American culture will stay capitalist is a need for this said freedom. Money is a form of property and if we are denied one of our basic rights in some capacity, America wouldn't be America. Second, our government is specifically built against the centralization of the government. Socialist countries typically have a dictator, which is against our very governmental ideals. Similarly, look at Americans now many are against the idea of socialism already and fear a dictatorship, their voting habits, and protests would never allow socialism to gain a major foothold. Lastly, our private businesses have too much power for socialism to take over. Many American-based businesses have billions of money, and with a lot of money comes a lot of influence. Although publically frowned upon, it is safe to say those private companies will spend or do anything to protect their right to be a private company and provide niche services. It has been happening for years, where private businesses, (mostly large, corporate businesses) will pay off and influence government, whether it's through campaign donations, bribes, or grants. However, people make up these large businesses, voters, and politicians, so until the idea that "Socialism is bad" is in the American people's heads, Socialism won't prevail.