In my previous article, I described a system of governance which carries various traits of both capitalism and socialism. Following that was a proposed standard to apply to determine the approaches to concentrate on in a given environment. A central question remains, however: after democratizing the means of production, de-personyifying corporations and the subsequent legislation against monopoly, and guaranteeing social institutions which are directly tied to human rights and need amelioration; how does progress exist?
Talking about politics at the office a few weeks ago, I was surprised how few people understand the relationship between socialism and capitalism in modern states. As of the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, the two most influential states left on the map are China, the most heavily capitalized socialist state, and the USA, the most heavily socialized capitalist state. As described in my previous article, the reason for this is the zero-sum relationship between pure cooperation (socialism) and pure competition (capitalism).
Both systems have merits and drawbacks, but the optimally influential state relies on both for success. In the United States, however, there is a flawed cultural assumption that every aspect of society is governed at some fundamental level by democratic capitalism. This article concentrates on the USA, and those aspects of its social, economic, political, and cultural climates that belie the assumption that free markets can handle everything.
Dann Stayskal is an interdisciplinary engineer, linguist, musician, researcher, and author. Fragmented Zen is his home.