Capitalism, Socialism, Communism: Chocolate Edition

During class this week, we demonstrated the concepts of capitalism, socialism, and communism using Hershey kisses. These Hershey kisses represented money in this activity. Few students were given eight Hershey kisses while most were given two. This separation of students with few Hershey kisses and many Hershey kisses represented the separation of the wealthy and the poor. Students then played a round of rock, paper, scissors to gamble their candy. The concept of capitalism was demonstrated by the students owning their own candy, choosing who to play with, and the possibility of winning or losing more candy. Reflecting all economic systems, there were complaints from students with few Hershey kisses, and the arguments about the fairness of the game. Next, the concept of socialism was demonstrated. It was demonstrated by the recollection of Hershey kisses by the teacher and equal distribution of Hershey kisses to every student. Lastly, the concept of communism was represented. This was represented by the students' refusal to gamble their new amount of candy and the teacher role no longer needed in the activity. I really enjoyed this activity. I thought it was a good hands-on activity that taught students the meaning of capitalism, socialism, and communism. It was fun to gamble our candy, but was frustrating at times to see that students that initially had more candy were still participating in the game.

During the Industrial Revolution, Karl Marx's theory changed the way people viewed the rich and poor. Marx created the theories of capitalism, socialism, and communism, also known as Marxism.  He theorized that capitalism consisted of private ownership of industry, freedom of competition, unequal economic classes, class struggle, and revolt of workers. Capitalism is an economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state. Marx believed that in order to make things fair, people would create a government system of socialism. Marx theorized that socialism consisted of government ownership of industry and the goal of economic equality and a classless society. Socialism is 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. Lastly, Marx theorized that communism would be used to avoid sharp divisions of rich and poor. Communism consists of the goal of a classless society and a society without the need of government. Communism advocates class war and leads to a society in which all property is publicly owned and each person works and is paid according to their abilities and needs. Through the use of these three practices, the poor were able to create a fair, equal society. During this era, economist Adam Smith developed the theory of theinvisible hand. Smith theorized that the poor would be able to help themselves by spending their money on their own interest. This means that producers would offer the best deals as consumers demanded good quality products. The producers would expand their business by meeting the consumers' standards. If producers work hard to make high quality products at low prices, then they will make money. Smith's theory helps the poor by limiting the government, allowing free trade and free markets, and allowing all workers to be consumers. All workers are able to be consumers as they are paid fair wages from their hard work to help maintain successful businesses and to ensure that workers take part in in the purchasing of goods.

I believe that both Marx's and Smith's theories are accurate and I don't believe that there is another solution. However, I agree most with Smith's theory as it is very evident in present day industrialization. Today, businesses are constantly trying to offer sales and deals to their consumers, while still offering high quality products. With these offers come more consumers, which inevitably expand their business. Workers are paid fair wages as they have to work to provide products for their business and must take the role of a consumer. Also, if one's business becomes successful from the production of high quality goods at low prices, then workers are allowed a higher wage from the expanded income. To this day, both theories are somewhat evident and help to industrialize our generation.

"What Motivated Adam Smith?" YouTube. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Oct. 2014. <http://youtu.be/kqMK3LmHPZs>.
"What Motivated Adam Smith?" YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 09 Oct. 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqMK3LmHPZs&feature=youtu.be>.
"Mini Bio: Karl Marx." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 09 Oct. 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16IMc5mhbZk&feature=youtu.be>.