Gordon 1

Katharyn Gordon
Ms. Arrendale
Pre AP English
27 April 2015
A Better System
Throughout time, the poor and middle class have been the stepping
stones of those pursuing wealth. Thats the way it is and has been in
capitalist countries. Capitalism is an economic and political system in
which a countrys trade and industry are controlled by private owners for
profit, rather than by the state [Merriam-Webster Dictionary]. It has proven
itself to be completely ineffective at taking care of less advantaged people in
society and providing living wages for those who work a full week. This
suggests that socialism, A political and economic theory of social
organization that advocates that the means of production, distribution, and
exchange should be owned or regulated by the community as a whole
would be better for the general population than capitalism.
Employment protection is the most essential benefit of socialism.
Employment protection means there are laws and policies that are put in
place to guarantee living wages and aid in the production of full
employment. Unfortunately, living wages are not a possibility with minimum
wage in the United States (which is, naturally, a capitalist country).
Washington D.Cs minimum wage is the highest in the nation at $9.50 an

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hour, not even enough to support the living wage of one adult
[livingwage.mit.edu].
Socialism also strongly supports education, it is funded well that
anyone could attend college and get a degree; regardless of class, and not
have to take out student loans that one would have to pay off over many,
many years. According to Forbes, the average American will graduate college
$26,600 deep in student debt, because of the drastically lower college cost
in socialist countries this doesnt happen!
Socialism reduces disparity in wealth. As time goes on in this country,
the divide between the rich and poor increases wider and wider
[www.census.gov], with the poor being the majority and the wealthy being a
very small minority, and yet, the wealthy hold almost all of the nations
wealth and power. It goes without saying that this is a very corrupt system
and a move in the opposite direction is necessary for true equality.
Some will argue that a socialist country is not a happy country because
of the high taxes but they are wrong. Citizens of socialist countries enjoy a
happy life like any other country. In fact, socialist countries rank top in the
world for highest quality of life [businessinsider.com].
From centuries of capitalism, it has become apparent that capitalism is
less effective at creating a higher quality of life in almost every aspect like
healthcare, employment, etc. It is time to try another method. Socialism is
guaranteed to be improvement for all of us. Everyone would have a fair

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opportunity to attend college, anyone could get a job that would support
them, and life would be a more even playing field.