Economic Systems: Communism, Socialism, Free - Market - Part 1

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JMJ

 I live in a country that some call 'socialist' ... and I recall looking up the definition once and found that the label didn't fit.

So I've decided to do a shallow dive into the different economic systems with a focus on Communism, Socialism and Market Driven.

In Socialism - the means of production are not owned by individuals, but by a collective of some sort, such as the Government.  

In Canada we have Crown Corporations that are own and managed by the Government.  So these do appear to be 'Socialist', however they are the exception not the rule and are generally focused on areas of national importance (See list at end of article).

 I've attached some excerpts below and have concluded that the Canadian Health system is not inherently socialist because the 'method of production' - meaning the hospitals - are not generally owned by the government, but privately via corporations.  What most people don't seem to know is that the Canadian Health system is a single insurer system - the insurer is the Government of Canada and, unlike most of the hospitals in the USA, it is not a for-profit system. 

However, one part does ring true with regards to the "emphasis on an equitable distribution of wealth among citizens".  This is what I call the Robin-Hood democracy, in which the Government seeks to tax the wealthy to fund social programs.  This does seem to create a problem as it is effectively punishing people for being successful by forcing them to pay higher taxes.  This disincentive will cause them to look for ways to preserve their wealth.

Keeping in mind that successful people generally employ other people. If you disincentive the creative, entrepreneurial, leaders, then you impact the economy. I foresee that the Government would just try to move more money to the rest of the economy but this will probably be a death spiral since they have cut the the productive actors within the economy who promote growth.

Conclusion

 So Canada isn't a 'Socialist' country following the basic factors I found in my research. However, the actions of the Government definitely seem to follow the Socialist principles.

P^3

 

 

So first, what are they key facets of Socialism?  The key element is focused on who owns the means of production. In this case of  'socialism' the means of production are held in common by the people.

 Socialism is a populist economic and political system based on:

• collective, 
• common, 
• or public ownership of the means of production. 
• Those means of production include the machinery, tools, and factories used to produce goods that aim to directly satisfy human needs.

In contrast to capitalism, whereby business owners control the means of production and pay wages to workers to use those means, socialism envisions shared ownership and control among the laboring class.   Source: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/socialism.asp

 

Key Takeaways

• Communism and socialism are political and economic systems that share certain ideologies, including greater equality in the distribution of income.
• Both are rejections of capitalism, instead giving economic power to the working class.
• One way that communism differs from socialism historically is that the former calls for the transfer of power to the working class through revolutionary rather than gradual means.
• Both communism and socialism advocate public control of the means of production, although socialism allows for the continued existence of capitalism in some parts of the economy.
• In reality, communist systems have not been very successful to date.

Communism

In basic terms, communism is a philosophy based on the equitable distribution of wealth among a nation’s citizens and common ownership of all property. In particular, it calls for the control of the means of production, such as manufacturing and agriculture, by the working class, or proletariat. Its ultimate goal is to achieve a classless society, at which point the state (or government) would “wither away.”1

Contemporary communism is an offshoot of socialism and is sometimes called revolutionary socialism for advocating the takeover of governmental powers by the working class through revolution rather than incremental reform.

Socialism

Socialism encompasses a broader spectrum of political beliefs but shares communism’s emphasis on an equitable distribution of wealth among citizens, as well as public ownership of the means of production, though not necessarily all of them. In that sense, socialist programs and policies can exist alongside capitalism in a society, which is less likely in a communist system. Socialists may or may not see a communist system as their end goal.Source: Investopia: Communism vs. Socialism: What’s the Difference?

 

 

 

Other References

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_system

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialism

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialist_economics

https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/100214/what-difference-between-communism-and-socialism.asp

https://www.canada.ca/en/treasury-board-secretariat/services/guidance-crown-corporations/list-crown-corporations.html

 

List of Crown Corporations

 

A
Atlantic Pilotage Authority	III-I	December 31	Transport
Atomic Energy of Canada Limited	III-I	March 31	Natural Resources

B
Bank of Canada	Exempt	December 31	Finance
Blue Water Bridge Authority	III-I	August 31	Transport
Business Development Bank of Canada	III-I	March 31	Industry

C
Canada Council for the Arts	Exempt	March 31	Canadian Heritage
Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation	III-I	March 31	Finance
Canada Development Investment Corporation	III-II	December 31	Finance
Canada Lands Company Limited	III-I	March 31	Public Works and Government Services
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation	III-I	December 31	Human Resources
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board	Exempt	March 31	Finance
Canada Post Corporation	III-II	December 31	Transport
Canadian Air Transport Security Authority	III-I	March 31	Transport
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation	Exempt	March 31	Canadian Heritage
Canadian Commercial Corporation	III-I	March 31	International Trade
Canadian Dairy Commission	III-I	July 31	Agriculture and Agri‑Food
Canadian Museum of Civilization	III-I	March 31	Canadian Heritage
Canadian Museum for Human Rights	III-I	March 31	Canadian Heritage
Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21	III-I	March 31	Canadian Heritage
Canadian Museum of Nature	III-I	March 31	Canadian Heritage
Canadian Race Relations Foundation	Exempt (Part X)	March 31	Citizenship and Immigration
Canadian Tourism Commission	III-I	December 31	Industry
Corporation for the Mitigation of Mackenzie Gas Project Impacts	III-I	March 31	Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development

D
Defence Construction (1951) Limited	III-I	March 31	Public Works and Government Services

E
Enterprise Cape Breton Corporation	III-I	March 31	Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
Export Development Canada	III-I	December 31	International Trade

F
Farm Credit Canada	III-I	March 31	Agriculture and Agri‑Food
Federal Bridge Corporation Limited, The	III-I	March 31	Transport
Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation	III-I	April 30	Fisheries and Oceans

G
Great Lakes Pilotage Authority	III-I	December 31	Transport

I
International Development Research Centre	Exempt	March 31	Foreign Affairs

L
Laurentian Pilotage Authority	III-I	December 31	Transport

M
Marine Atlantic Inc	III-I	March 31	Transport

N
National Arts Centre Corporation	Exempt	August 31	Canadian Heritage
National Capital Commission	III-I	March 31	Foreign Affairs
National Gallery of Canada	III-I	March 31	Canadian Heritage
National Museum of Science and Technology	III-I	March 31	Canadian Heritage

O
Old Port of Montreal Corporation Inc	Reports as a Parent	March 31	Public Works and Government Services

P
Pacific Pilotage Authority	III-I	December 31	Transport
Parc Downsview Park Inc	Reports as a Parent	March 31	Public Works and Government Services
Public Sector Pension Investment Board	Exempt (Part X)	March 31	Treasury Board

R
Ridley Terminals Inc	III-I	December 31	Transport
Royal Canadian Mint	III-II	December 31	Finance

S
Standards Council of Canada	III-I	March 31	Industry

T
Telefilm Canada	Exempt	March 31	Canadian Heritage

V
VIA Rail Canada Inc	III-I	December 31	Transport