BY: ANSUIYA PRABHAKAR

The word socialism has been in the existence for a very long time and dials
back to almost as far back as Moses. 1 Socialism is a type of economic scheme in
which the government owns some if not most of the means of production/businesses
of a country, capitalism is minimal or extinct in this environment. Socialism is
followed to ensure equitable distribution of resources among the people of the state.
Socialism can be considered as a gentle economic system if compared to capitalism
as capitalism is all about self-growth and getting in front of others.

Socialism is considered an appropriate economic system because it provides
an equitable distribution of resources and no one gets excess of anything. It is based
on the needs of the people not on the wants, unlike capitalism in which anyone can
get more if they have more money. Socialism also helps in minimizing the wastage
of resources by providing only the needed amount to everyone. Everything done in a
socialist society is done for the welfare of the people and not for profit-maximization
of individuals or organizations which preserves harmony and cohesiveness in the
group. The state also focuses on using its natural resources to the fullest, for
example, Venezuela focused on using its oil and was once the biggest exporter of it.

Socialism also eliminates the chances of a monopoly existing in the state as it
is the owner of most of the businesses. Monopoly is the natural offspring of
competition 2 and hence eliminating competition by using a socialistic regime and
making an equitable distribution of resources could result in solidarity amongst the
people. Socialism also attempts to minimize the mindset of not being wealthy and
reduces jealousy amongst the people by equitably distributing the wealth and giving
every citizen a right to voice their thoughts on how the resources should be used.
The government redistributes wealth by progressive taxation techniques, for
example, levying a higher tax on luxury goods. The state also arranges free access
to education, healthcare, child care and subsidizes access to housing, food,
pharmaceutical goods, water supply, waste management, and electricity.

The equality in socialism decreases imbalance amongst people, eradicates
‘class’ system, and gives everyone the opportunity to more social and secure life,
unlike in capitalism there is a huge gap in the income of people and sometimes the
class with lesser income might not be able to participate in certain events in which
the wealthier section might not have a problem at all. For example, a person with
1 Dagger, R. and Ball, Terence. “Socialism.” Encyclopedia Britannica, March 1, 2021.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/socialism.
2 Dickinson, H. D. (1971). Economics of socialism. Books f. Libr. P. p.4

very little money bids on a cottage to stay for a month as he does not have a home
and a wealthy person also bids on that cottage because he wants it for his leisure.
Now, the wealthy person might be able to bid more against the person with no house
and because of that, the homeless person may suffer the consequences of the rich
man’s choices. In the socialist regime, however, no one works more than the other
and the people who are unable to participate (example: Handicap people) are also
taken care of by the government. Socialism also creates mindfulness about the
environment as the ownership of resources resides with the people, they are able to
conserve the environment as well as continue their daily jobs by minimizing pollution
and adopting certain policies to be followed by everyone. Socialism also curtails
poverty by providing everyone with their physiological and safety needs.

The ideology of socialism is very vast and intricate and has a lot of room for
more research. Socialism is one of the extremes of types of an economy with
capitalism being on the other extreme. If socialism is blended with capitalism, it could
do wonders for a country. It is known as a mixed economy. In conclusion, socialism
is a harmonious ideology and can succeed if used faithfully without any
malfeasance.

Aishwarya Says:

I have always been against Glorifying Over Work and therefore, in the year 2021, I have decided to launch this campaign “Balancing Life”and talk about this wrong practice, that we have been following since last few years. I will be talking to and interviewing around 1 lakh people in the coming 2021 and publish their interview regarding their opinion on glamourising Over Work.

If you are interested in participating in the same, do let me know.

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