Posted by Chester Morton / Wednesday 9 May 2018 / No comments
The disadvantages of socialism
THE DISADVANTAGES OF SOCIALISM
Definition
Socialism is a political and economic system. Unlike
capitalism, the means of production and distribution of goods and services are
controlled by the people through representatives. The proceeds from the
management of the economy is shared among the people on the basis of equality.
This type of polico-economic system is practiced in Russia, China and North
Korea, to mention but a few.
THE MAIN DISADVANTAGES OF SOCIALISM
May develop into a dictatorship
One of the arguments against socialism is that it can easily
degenerate into a dictatorship. This is so because socialism is mostly
associated with a one-party political arrangement either by law or by the
dominance of one party. Since this system does not recognize any official
opposition, it can create the opportunity for dictators to emerge.
Absence of alternative political choices
As alluded to in the previous point, socialist systems operate
with only one political party at the helm of affairs. The absence of other
political parties therefore robs the citizens of the luxury of choosing from a
plethora of other parties during the election of representatives into political
office.
No room for innovation
Socialism has also been condemned on the basis of the fact
that since it is expected to cater for the needs of every citizens, the
citizens do not strive to do anything other than what the system expects them
to do. This way, there is no urge to try anything and even excel in it. There
is no drive for competition among the people so initiative is driven
underground.
There is inefficiency
In a socialist system, there is no competition among the
state producers so there is no urge to improve upon systems or processes.
Critics argue therefore that this creates inefficiency in the operations of the
state enterprises, some of which are compelled to function below the installed
capacity of their machinery.
Loss of consumer sovereignty
Under a socialist system, the consumer does not have any
preferences other that what has been offered by the state enterprise. If a
citizen does not like a particular product on the market, he or she does not
have any alternatives to turn to. That right of the consumer to choose what he
or likes is therefore lost. This is unlike the capitalist system where the
consumer has several alternatives to choose from even in the same product
range.
SAMPLE QUESTION(S)
1. a. What is socialism?
b. Highlight five disadvantages of socialism.
2. Highlight six arguments against socialism.
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