DOES IT MATTER WHO WINS?

Is it the political system, or who leads it that matters most?

The Venerable Book Series examines this question. Can Utopia be vulnerable to human behavior, despite the best of intentions?

Much of the political divide in the United States today is rooted in political philosophy. People on the so-called right wing of the political spectrum promote capitalism, the traditional economic system in the Western world for many centuries. It has also been embraced by Eastern and burgeoning societies such as Japan and China.

Those on the left end of the spectrum have recently begun to lean further toward an anti-capitalism and pro-socialism philosophy. Several Western countries, such as Norway, Sweden and Denmark, have instituted more socialist ideas into their systems, although they still remain primarily capitalistic in function.

All societies rely on some level of socialism. Prevalent Socialist constructs in the United States range from the federal tax and highway systems to local law enforcement and first responders. Any entity funded, managed, and controlled by a government agency is an example of socialism.

Any organization that is not government-controlled with which you are free to exchange legal tender for goods and services is an example of capitalism. Retailers, grocery stores, hospitals, and online commerce are examples of Capitalism These can either operate for profit or be non-profit.

What are Capitalism and Socialism, really?

Before delving any further into these ideas, let’s take a look at their definitions, along with other often discussed terms, Communism and Fascism:

·         Capitalism – is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production. The defining characteristics of capitalism include competitive markets, private property, economic freedom, meritocracy, work ethic, limited role of government, entrepreneurship, and a strong emphasis on innovation and economic growth.

·         Socialism – is characterized by ownership of the means of production by the society as a whole, as opposed to private ownership. Social ownership can take various forms, including public, community, collective, cooperative, or employee. Public ownership assumes governmental or centralized control. Collectives and cooperatives can be modified group forms of private ownership, where these groups are not associated with the government or central control.

·         Communism – is an economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is not only public ownership of the means of production, but also the creation of a  socioeconomic order with distribution of goods and services that allocates products to everyone in the society based on need. A communist society would deny the  right of private property and seek to eliminate social classes. In its purest form, a communist society would function as one massive collective, with centralized control but no government, per se.

·         Fascism - authoritarian, ultranationalist political ideology and movement, characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hierarchy, subordination of individual interests for the perceived good of the nation or race, and strong regimentation of society and the economy.

While supposedly at opposite ends of the political spectrum, Communism and Fascism have both resulted historically in authoritarian governments. The conflagration of centralized control with the subordination of individual interests for the good of the state has resulted in totalitarian communist regimes. Socialism has also fallen victim to this same problem historically.

The problem seems to be that in any system of human organization, humans are in control. The bottom line is, no matter the system, authoritarianism is always a threat, especially in systems advocating the most central control. At the same time, if there no central control, anarchy may ultimately be the result.

The “Benevolent Dictator”

Whether elected, appointed or self-annointed, it makes sense that those human beings who are in control of any system would tend to be people who seek power. And what is the difference between control and power? According to the following definitions, not much.

·         Control – the power to influence or direct people's behavior or the course of events. "the whole operation is under the control of a production manager"

·         Power - the capacity or ability to direct or influence the behavior of others or the course of events. "she had me under her power"

The desire for power is a character trait that is looked upon negatively by most of society as being selfish, narcissistic and egotistical. Therefore, shouldn’t the last people we want to be in control of or have power over any type of system are those who seek power and control? In all of recorded history, the concept and existence of “benevolent dictators” has been more a fantasy than a reality.

One solution to this problem is the genius of the system of checks and balances we enjoy in the United States. The designed separation of powers between the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government should prevent any one person or small group from becoming dictatorial. Unfortunately, recent Presidents (from both parties) have extended their control beyond the bounds intended by the founding fathers by utilizing loopholes such as emergency executive orders. The ability to choose supreme Court Justices is a problem as well. That may be the largest flaw in our system.  

Now our divided country lives in fear as we approach the upcoming presidential election, with both sides believing whoever wins will attempt to wield unprecedented power, either via Socialism or Fascism. The fact is, whoever wins will likely have more executive power than any President in history. Perhaps that’s good news if your person wins, but it’s bad news for everyone if this increase in power continues.

Any system can devolve into authoritarianism or anarchy. Even one as carefully designed by the forefathers of the United States of America, or the Utopia created in Venerable. It is not the system that determines the success or failure of a society. It is the leaders who are entrusted with governing them. Systems don’t ruin societies, people do. The flaw of any system is that it is run by human beings.