Dermocratic Socialism vs. Democratic Capitalism

Ranging from mutualism (an anarchist school of thought) to market socialism (a blend of communism and capitalism), Socialism as an economic system, combined with the political system of Democracy is probably the most misunderstood form of government and economy in existence. There are good reasons for that. For one, there are many theories on how exactly a socialistic economy should be run. This lack of consensus, in combination with the totalitarian practices of the Soviet Union during its Communist experiment have thrown a dark cloud over the word "socialism" and turned many democratic states to seek their desired freedom in the economic system of Capitalism. On the other hand, recent extreme behaviors of unfettered greed have given rise to thoughts that capitalism of and by itself is not a panacea, rather it holds its own dangers.

It's not my goal in this article to define economic and political terms. Such definitions belong in an encyclopedia, and the reader may easily find the references he or she needs. Instead, I would like to present my personal point of view vis-a-vis the two systems.

There is one word in common for both systems and that word is "Democratic". Democracy, as a political system, guarantees that all matters of the State, including its Economy are decided upon in accordance with the will of its citizens. The question is: can the citizens of a State be manipulated to prefer one system over another by special interests? The answer is "of course"! Powerful special interest groups or even other countries can and have many times in the past manipulated populations and governments to lean one way or the other. In this case, the word "Democratic" becomes irrelevant, since the voters have been "tampered with" and are therefore unable to determine or express their true will.

In a true Democratic government (the way the Ancient Athenians may have wanted it to be) each citizen would be free, educated enough and therefore able to know his own interests and to be able to select freely the candidate that expressed these interests most closely. If the citizens felt that an unregulated economy served them better, then their elected government would lean toward a more capitalistic system. If, on the other hand, the citizens felt that the economy was "too free" and they were being taken advantage of, they would be quick to impose rules and regulations, thereby creating a more socialistic environment for their society. In this sense, neither system is good or bad. They are simply tools to make life better for the people.

So why is there such vehemence nowadays pertaining to which system will reign supreme? The answer is simple. People are not free, adequately informed or uninfluenced enough to be able to determine their own interests. Special interest groups of both schools of thought control the Media and each tries to paint the other in the darkest of colors. In consequence, the citizen is confused and ends up voting for the interests of the powerful and not for his own interests. The economy ends up being a power game and the term "Democracy" goes out the window.

So much for understanding the whys and hows. In the present global situation, what should we do? Well, my opinion is that first of all, we should promote Democracy. Democracy should be promoted not only for Third World countries that have never known this system of governing, but for First World countries that have forgotten the meaning of the word as well. Secondly, everyone should realize that when we talk about economic systems we are talking simply about tools that exist only as long as they can make our lives better, not about ethics or political ideologies. Living within a capitalistic system does not make you more free than living in a socialistic systen or visa versus. Living in a Democracy makes you more free than living in a dictatorship or an oligarchy. As for the preferred economic system? Well... whatever works for the majority!