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Socialist Command Economy

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An economy could be considered the blood of a nation’s body; as everything flows smoothly, the body performs its functions properly. Two major types of economy in the world today are capitalist market economies and socialist command economies. Under a market economy, the people are granted the rights to free enterprise and build the economy through private business; they can create and trade products and services as they wish. Within a command economy, the government controls the land and capital and makes all the decisions involving economic issues. Both of these economies share some goals, but are also quite different in how each functions and each possess their own share of advantages and disadvantages. Command economies and market economies, …show more content…

Within the command economy system, the government has control and/or ownership of all the available land and capital.. This may seem like a negative point, but the command system does have some advantages. The economy, under this system, is capable of changing rapidly over a brief period of time. People know what they are going to do for work; there is little room for uncertainty about what someone will do with their lives. Under this economy, equality is a high priority; everyone has similar amounts and forms of wealth and lifestyles. Public services such as defense, education, and health care cost almost nothing because the government provides them to keep equality and make sure the services are available to everyone. However, there are some problems with this economic system. One is the fact that the work done to achieve equality does not always meet the needs and wants of the consumers. Another is that the quality of products is not always the best because there is no competition or incentive to try to become better. Individuality pushed so far that it is almost nonexistent. Also, a large bureaucracy is required to run the system, which means that even though major changes in the economy can be made very quickly, small, day-to-day changes are often neglected. A command economy can be effective in achieving equality, but it also limits the people. Market economies and command economies may have some small similarities, but they do have myriad differences. One economy focuses chance and individual freedom; the other, equality and certainty. Each one functions differently, and the situation of the nation’s economy balanced with either system’s advantages and disadvantages will determine which one will work the best for the

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