Capitalism

=**Apush Summer Assignment 2011 Mr. Max D445** = 

Bridget Ironuma Summer APUSH Work 2011

**1.) ****What is Capitalism? **

Capitalism is an economic system in which groups of people handle the manufacturing and distribution of goods. It allows a lot of freedom to business owners in the economic world because there is virtually no government control involved. The people who handle this are known as the capitalist class. Capitalism is, basically, a free market economy. That means that the production of goods of the small company is based on supply and demand. The capitalist class gets their money, essentially, from competition. They have to be better than their competitors to gain more customers in order to make money, which explains the country’s different levels of wealth. Workers profit from the effort they put in, causing rich and poor.


 * 2.)****What form of capitalism does the United States practice? What are the details of this form of capitalism?**

The United States doesn’t practice capitalism alone. It has a mixed economy. The United States practices a mix of capitalism and socialism. That means that the United State’s economy partially follows the capitalist system and partially the socialist system. The part of capitalism the United States follow includes giving freedom to business owners and allowing them to produce and distribute goods. The rules of socialism that the United States follows include having the government have a say in businesses but to a certain extent. The federal government helps out by regulating taxes and allowing those who have no jobs some benefits. It, also, causes a boss or employer to use a portion of the employee’s paycheck for the employee’s Social Security.

**3.) ****Why does the United States practice capitalism? Why is it the system that the founders of the United States established? **

Capitalism is practiced by the United States due to the ideas Adam Smith had about the economy in the 1700s. Adam Smith is the founder of capitalism. He established this economic system to meet the demands of the public. It was a self-regulating system controlling the supply of goods, meaning it was independent from the government and gave the people what they wanted when they wanted it. It was a good idea and it worked because it bettered the standard of living.


 * 4.)****What are the positives and negatives of having this economic system?**

Though capitalism has its advantages it also has disadvantages. Some advantages include growth and freedom in the business world and some disadvantages include “unequal distribution of income”, meaning people aren’t paid the same, “frequent periods of unemployment”, meaning there are a lot of people living without a job for a while, and the fact that the government can’t control the uncertainty of employment. ( [] ).


 * 5.)****What is a democracy?**

A democracy is a form of governing in which citizens are allowed to directly and indirectly make an impact in the government through voting and electing representatives for themselves. A direct democracy states that the citizens don’t have to choose a representative to state their opinion but rather, they can just vote directly on the issue at hand. An indirect democracy states that the citizens must elect a representative to be the people’s voice when it comes to voting on certain decisions.


 * 6.)****What form of democracy does the United States practice? What are the details of this form of democracy?**

The form of democracy that the United States practices is a representative democracy. This means that the citizens vote for someone who wants to represent their voice rather than voting on every single issue. The representatives are elected based on what a majority of the people want. They give their campaign stating what they stand for and the voters choose who they want.


 * 7.)****Why does the United States practice democracy? Why is it the system that the founders of the United States established?**

The United States practices democracy because the citizens are the voice of the United States and they are the ones who need to vote on the issues going on in their own country. The founder of the United States established this system because it allowed citizens to be a part of the passing of laws in Congress.


 * 8.)****What are the positives and negatives of having this system?**

The positive of having a democracy is the fact that everyone gets a say. Everyone’s individual voice is heard. That means, too, that power can be shifted from one political party to another. The negative is having people change their vote because of different influences or not caring about the issues.

**9.)****Please Watch Michael Moore’s 2009 documentary “Capitalism: A Love Story” and summarize 4 or 5 of his main points. Also, please critique his arguments-what does he leave out, what problems do you find with his approach, etc. Make sure you relate the film to your earlier research on capitalism and democracy.**

In Michael Moore’s 2009 documentary “Capitalism: A Love Story” Michael Moore expresses his hate towards capitalism. He explains how the government is evil because of it. Some of the main points that he wanted to get across were the fact that capitalism is corruption, capitalism is a sin, capitalism causes greed, the reality of people benefitting from death and hardships of others is immoral, and that there is no mention of capitalism in the Constitution of the United States of America. Moore covers all of these topics and more in his documentary.

Michael Moore strongly believes that capitalism is corruption. He isn’t pleased with what the banks are doing. He believes that they should be fixed so that they don’t hurt the people. In his documentary he explains the government’s abuse of power. In Detroit, Michigan they show a house being boarded up because the man is getting evicted. He wasn’t able to pay the bills so he was kicked out of his house. He followed the rules of what he was supposed to do and listened to when he was supposed to leave the building but the government, being corrupt, came days earlier and kicked him out. In order to get back on his feet he had to go to work to for the same people that evicted him. Capitalism’s point is to either get by or fail which is what Moore is against. There’s so much competition involved and it doesn’t allow some people an opportunity to make a living. Moore makes it very clear that his views on capitalism are negative.

Michael Moore believes capitalism is a sin. In a section of the movie he said that capitalism is a contradiction to everything that is just. He feels that capitalism is the opposite of fair. Capitalism favors the rich and hurts the poor. Moore said that this contradicts the Bible because the Bible says “blessed are the poor and woe to the rich”. In this portion of the movie, regarding religion and capitalism being a sin, Michael Moore begs the question, “Would Jesus be a capitalist?

In this documentary Moore explains his thoughts on capitalism and greed. Michael Moore thinks that capitalism causes the government to become hungry for money. In the documentary he describes capitalism to be as “system of taking and giving but mostly taking”. On November 4,1980 Ronald Reagan became president. His Chief of Staff brought Corporate America and Wall Street together. He wanted America to become a corporation. He wanted workers to work even hard but with the same wages and he wanted tax breaks for the rich. Going along with the subject of capitalism being a sin, tax breaks for the rich would contradict the bible and it was greedy because the poor were suffering to keep their houses and yet those who can pay for theirs get tax breaks. Moore depicts the immoral values of the government by tackling the subject of greed in capitalism.

Another point Michael Moore makes in his documentary is the benefitting from death and hardships of others being immoral. In the documentary juvenile delinquents were shown in an interview talking about how they have no chance in front of a judge. Once they’re there they already know they will be sent away. The judges benefit from these kids being put in the PA Child Care, which is basically a juvenile detention center. The judge in the documentary was, then, able to afford a jet and a yacht. They would even keep the kids in the juvenile detention for longer than sentenced just to make more money. Another immoral thing that came from capitalism is “dead peasants”. “Dead peasants” are workers who have died. The company gains profit from the deceased employees so Moore’s views on capitalism become even stronger.

A fifth point Michael Moore makes in his documentary “Capitalism: A Love Story” is there is no mention of capitalism in the Constitution. There is no mention of free market or free enterprise. The Constitution uses the word “we” and Moore says that that’s not what capitalism is about. When Roosevelt was president he wanted to change the bill of rights. With his changes people would have a right to a decent job, an adequate wage, universal healthcare, good education, an affordable home, and a paid vacation but before he was able to pass his bill of rights he died. Moore must have appreciated Roosevelt’s plan because it gave everyone benefits.

Michael Moore’s documentary explained a lot about capitalism. It explained all the problems with it. His arguments were very biased and only focused on one side of the situation. His approach on the subject was rather humorous but he was also very easy to take serious because he had good points. His evidence on the subject was clear. Michael Moore’s documentary “Capitalism: A Love Story” focused on the issue and clarified the problems of corruption, sin, greed, immorality, and an absence of capitalism in the Constitution.

**10.) **** What is the relationship between capitalism and democracy? How do they work together, how do their principles coincide and how do they oppose each other? **

The relationship between capitalism and democracy is that democracy leads to capitalism. It is the “how?” and capitalism is the “what”. They oppose each other because capitalism is more of an independent system with people working in a competition. Democracy is based on “we”. It is about every working together.

CITATIONS:

[]

[]

[]

[]

[]

[]