Economic Systems: Communism, Socialism, Free - Market

Economic Systems: Communism, Socialism, Free - Market - Part 2

JMJ

Following up on my first article I did a quick review of the Catholic Encyclopedia (links below).

First the idea of the economy is to manage the resources of an organization. That can be a person, family, company, country or even world.

The term socialism (quoted below) definitely seems to apply today over a hundred years later.

A system of social and economic organization that would substitute state monopoly for private ownership of the sources of production and means of distribution, and would concentrate under the control of the secular governing authority the chief activities of human life.

This is where I see socialism leading to a police state as described in 1984. There are a number of current movements that seek to limit the action of religion and the majority in favour of minorities. Something to research further.

Communism seems to be a flavour of Socialism with all property being removed from the control of the individuals.

In its more general signification communism refers to any social system in which all property, or at least all productive property, is owned by the group, or community, instead of by individuals. Thus understood it comprises communistic anarchism, socialism, and communism in the strict sense.

I'm not clear on where Collectivism lands in the spectrum. However, the 'Tragedy of the Commons' (link: Tragedy of the Commons) is a useful idea to review:

The tragedy of the commons is an economic theory that states that individuals use up resources shared by many to benefit themselves. The reality is often that because individuals tend to act in a selfish way, using resources shared by a group, everyone ends up suffering in the end.

This is why it is false that the developing economies will sacrifice their growth in order to at least slow global warming that is driving climate change. We all partake in the commons of the environment, but the impacts are in the future, so these economies won't sacrifice their people.

This something I may look at later as I was surprised to see that Canada actually was twelfth on theWiki list with GHG contributions of 1.41%.

P^3