CAPITALISM

The topic is capitalism vs. socialism: which economy is morally best? I have tried to break this topic down into specific issues that may be argued over. If you have another one, talk to me to finalize your choice. Don't feel limited by the sample arguments I give. If you want some advice on an argument you are coming up with, contact me. You can even call me .

In formulating your own argument, there is an easy way to avoid logical error. Even though it seems silly, it really is helpful, since it forces you to make a premise out of the logical connection between your supporting reason or reasons and the conclusion (thesis).

1. Suppose your thesis is that:

C. A capitalist economy is morally best.

2. In order to form that into an argument, you have to have a main supporting reason or reasons. So suppose your reason is:

1. Competition produces the best results for society.

3. You can connect this reason to the conclusion conceptually, by linking all the concepts up in a "logical train", e.g.:

2. The main engine that motivates capitalism is competition.

4. Or you can make the connection logically, simply by writing:

2. If 1., then C.

5. If you already have two or more premises and still are not sure if you've made the strict logical connection between premises and conclusion that logic requires, you can still employ this "default argument" technique:

1. Competition produces the best results for society.

2. The main engine that motivates capitalism is competition.

3. 3. If 1. and 2., then a capitalist economy is morally best.

C. A capitalist economy is morally best.

What this does is put the logical connection on the table, where it must be officially acknowledged and defended - and possibly subjected to criticism - instead of sneaked in as a hidden premise. Remember, the defense of a conditional - an "if/then" statement, is not the defense of the 'if' part or the 'then' part, but of the connection between the two.

It has to be understood that the uses of the terms 'capitalism' and 'socialism', unless otherwise specified, do not refer to their extreme versions, which in no case are plausible.

Sample Theses

1. Capitalism is the best large-scale economic format, because at that point the economy is too big to be planned.

2. Health care should be universal or socialized, because it is a vital service that should not be left up to the whims of free market forces, which will make delivery of services inconsistent and unevenly distributed.

3. Some socialist mechanisms are required to lubricate or prepare the rest of the market to produce a good result for society when operating by free market forces. Examples: Bankrupcy and collusion laws, Universal Health, Social Security, Income Tax.

4. Socialism is preferable for small-scale economies because the small scale can be effectively planned, and whatever can be effectively planned should be.

5. A defect of capitalist theory is that it overlooks or underestimates the value of cooperation - as opposed to competition - to the economy, both inter-organizationally and intra-organizationally.

6. A defect of capitalist theory is that it overlooks or underestimates the morla legitimacy of ownership of one's work, as oppose to material ownership or ownership of the means of production.

7. Capitalism is unfair because some people have more resources to succeed than others from the outset. It's like a game of Monopoly that some people start already owning property.

8. Capitalism has a downside that is justified by the fact that capitalism is a productive game that we have chosen on the basis of the fact that it is more productive on the whole than any alternative. Some behaviors that would be immoral outside the context of a game are moral within the context of a game.

9. Intra-organizational competition is an important mechanism for corporate success, because  people are largely motivated by self- interest and competition harnesses that motivation best.  (Possible case in point: a professional sports league.)

10. Interorganizaional competition is an important mechanism for a society's economic success, because people are largely motivated by self-interest and competition harnesses that motivation best.

11. Capitalism is in the long-term an unsustainable form of economy because it depends on the  promise of future growth and thus requires the economy to speed up the consumption of its  resources to an unreplenishable rate. This will result in economic colllapse unless we  gradually wean ourselves away from capitalism with increased regulation of the economy.

Arguments

1. Every country needs domestic food production for its own national security and independence.

2. 2. Some countries' agricultural producers can't compete with international large-scale agricultural producers.

3. If 1, and 2., then some countries ought to place protectionist tariffs on their agricultural imports.

4. If some countries ought to place protectionist tariffs on their agricultural imports, then the capitalist theory is false.

C. The capitalist theory is false.

[Definition: The capitalist theory is that free market mechanisms will always guide an economy to the most beneficial outcome.]

Or, you can use this as an argument template, replacing the domestic food production problem with some other known problem for capitalism: safety in the nuclear power industry, the tobacco industry, etc.

1. Capitalist market forces cannot lead to the best results in some major market(s).

2. If 1., then sometimes we ought to turn to socialist management strategies.

C. Sometimes we ought to turn to socialist management strategies.

This is a sort of template. You may choose to rephrase this more particularly with reference to one market. Examples: nuclear power, genetically modified organisms, supplements and performance medications, tobacco, health insurance, etc.

Simple Skelly-definitions.

Socialism: planned market. I..e.

Socialist strategy is proactive planned market strategy.

Capitalism: unplanned market, reactively regulated when needed.

Capitalist strategy is to let the market happen, then tweak it reactively here and there in response to problems that arise.