Socialism: An Economic System In The United States

Most people view socialism as a term synonymous with communism. However, this is not the case; socialism is an economic system in which the state owns all means of production, as opposed to a complete governmental system, communism. Socialism is heavily contested between people with different economic ideologies; the policies chosen for implementation now will greatly affect the future, so people must learn to compromise. U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders classifies himself as a Democratic Socialist. He is also currently running for the Democratic Nomination for the 2016 presidential election. He stands for a general equality; economically and socially. Many liberals are on his side, but in contrast, almost all conservatives are strongly against his standpoints. In the case that he is elected, numerous socialist policies would likely be implemented upon the nation. Inversely, if someone like him is not elected, and a Republican is inaugurated in …show more content…
For instance, supporters would like to see a much smaller gap between the lower and upper class. In opposition, those who disagree with socialism say that people need to work and earn everything, and not get any ‘hand-outs’ from the government. To carry out socialist policies in the United States, the process would essentially be built on these hand-outs, as there is a noticeable income difference between the lower and upper class. Conservatives often argue that this would require unfair taxes on the rich, and unwarranted benefits for the poor. Other controversial issues include whether higher education should be free and what minimum wage should be. Left wingers tend to believe that yes, higher education like college should be free for everyone and that minimum wage needs to be high enough to live comfortably. Consequently, republicans are opposed to those beliefs, and instead believe higher education should be paid for and minimum wage is not supposed to be a living