Social Structures

What are they, and what type do of structure do you live in? I'm guessing you might know that we live in a capitalistic society, but more than likely you can not explain in depth what that means, nor the history of other systems such as Communism and Socialism. This is not an attempt to point a finger, it's just my responsibility to point out my own ignorance in these matters and faith that others are like myself. The three major structures that come to mind in my very recent research are Communism, Capitalism, and Socialism.

Communism

As long as can I remember the countries that operate under communism have been demonized by the media of America which has condition me to not consider it's ideas almost instinctively. I do not support the views of communism but understanding that the countries below currently operate in a Communistic state should provoke a desire to understand what those communistic fundaments are.

Countries that are currently full fledged or heavily influenced:

Brazil – Communist Party of Brazil
Bulgaria – Communist Party of Bulgaria
China – Communist Party of China leads the United Front
Cuba – Communist Party of Cuba
Cyprus – Progressive Party of Working People
Laos – Lao People's Revolutionary Party
Moldova – Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova
Nepal – Communist Party of Nepal
North Korea – Korean Workers' Party
San Marino – Sammarinese Communist Refoundation
South Africa – South African Communist Party
Sri Lanka – Communist Party of Sri Lanka
Syria – Syrian Communist Party (Bakdash)
Uruguay – Communist Party of Uruguay
Vietnam – Communist Party of Vietnam

There are hundreds of communistic types which consist of Marxism, Stalinism, Maoism, to Leninism. So it is obviously unwise to universalize the concepts and ideas. I simply believe that it should be common knowledge to be able converse in the matters of communism and see the pros and cons to the fundaments that support the ideas of the structure itself. What do you think, and do you have an opinion on the matter?

Communism basic terminology-
Communism is the idea of a free society with no division or alienation, where mankind is free from oppression and scarcity. A communist society would have no governments, countries, or classes. It's a society based on common ownership of the means of production and property in general. Karl Marx posited that communism would be the final stage in human society, evolving into a classless, stateless society of "pure communism".

Capitalism

The second would be that of Capitalism which is the society we live in. If you are like me you have been born and raised here and do not know of much anything else. By brief definition capitalism would be defined as an economic system based on a free market, open competition, profit motive and private ownership of the means of production. Capitalism encourages private investment and business, compared to a government-controlled economy. Investors in these private companies (i.e. shareholders) also own the firms and are known as capitalists.

The countries that operate in this structure are mainly considered first world countries, I tried to get a specific list but was unsuccessful in doing so. This structure is based on private ownership in business, and property in a economic system ruled by profit. This is great for the hyper ambitious or which in turn create corporations that create jobs at minimal pay, but bad for the less ambitious who work their lives away for minimal pay. As far as I understand it, capitalism does create unbalanced classes and opportunities for legal monopolies to be enjoyed by the few on behalf of the majority. The structure was developed into a working fashion in England between the 16th and 19th centuries refining itself in a continuous fashion. Overall I consider this system the most beneficial in regards to personal freedoms and preferences verses the other major two with random exceptions.

Countries that are currently full fledged as far as I can tell:

United States
Canada
Japan
Australia
Europe
Many more
Eventually all

Socialism

Actually communism is said to be a branch of socialism or I have also seen quotes form Marx as stating that socialism was the bridge between Capitalism and Communism. According to Wikipedia: Socialists mainly share the belief that capitalism unfairly concentrates power and wealth among a small segment of society that controls capital and creates an unequal society. All socialists advocate the creation of an egalitarian society, in which wealth and power are distributed more evenly, although there is considerable disagreement among socialists over how, and to what extent this could be achieved.

Countries that are currently full fledged or heavily influenced:

Democratic People's Republic of Korea
People's Republic of Bangladesh
Arab Republic of Egypt
Cooperative Republic of Guyana
Republic of India
Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
Portuguese Republic (República Portuguesa)
Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
Syrian Arab Republic
United Republic of Tanzania
Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela


It only seems to be inevitable to fore go extreme opposition and dispute when deciding actions for millions of people. Establishing a democracy for delegating individuals to make those decisions is a task enough of it's own not to mention have peaceful conclusions once things have been put into motion. One mainline government distributing wealth and position seems hard pill to swallow especially us Americans we feel as if we would have to give so much up. On the other hand, to have no debt and no pressure to chase some illusion of monetary gain and have the freedom to simply emphasize creativity and utilizing technology while experiencing human interaction free from profit based deception. It seems Utopian but worth a shot unfortunately it never was able thus far to live up to it's hopes and vision.

Conclusion

I have come to the conclusion I know little if any regards to these matters, but I am interested more than ever. I acknowledge I live in a once great fallen country but do believe there is still hope somewhere in the minds of the many who think not about these types of things. As I have begun to examine social structures I am convinced our most advance structure has been that of this capitalistic one. The downfalls are numerous but the main one I have noticed is the extreme stress almost everyone is under as we are ruled by this profit based system that basically turns us against each other. It is hard to trust people in that atmosphere and it creates many problems I do not believe are natural or genetic.

Therefore in my opinion I believe we should be able to appreciate each structures efforts in creating something better but I am convinced we need to lose faith in this structure and take the beneficial aspects while looking towards a better way. Maybe a natural resource based economy? Maybe anything that takes our lives out of the hands of the few and protects us from greed and power. It seems to me that we do need a new world order, a order that will protect us from governments and corporations and wicked son-bithes all together! Respectfully I do not offer answers, only suggestions such as maybe you should have an opinion too, since your in this thing as well as the rest of us. What do you think?