One only needs to turn on Fox News to hear that communism is going to destroy us all, or that Obama is a socialist and wants to turn us into the USSR. Conservatives seem to be convinced that communism will be the end of us all. On the other side, there are those that believe that capitalism takes advantage of the poor and marginalized. Examples like Nike or Wal-Mart show that people can use the economic system of capitalism to do just that. Some even go as far as saying Jesus was a communist or a capitalist, both sides proof-texting their point. I have my problem with people saying that Jesus held to one economic system but that is another post.
The truth I think that most fail to see though is neither system is inherently evil. They are two different systems that try to distribute wealth equally. Although, they have two different definitions of equal. This leaves the largely not talked about side of the equation, humans. Humans are not only corruptible but corrupting agents. It is not hard to look for examples of where communism was corrupted, historically, Stalin did a number to Russia and innocent people died. In the modern day we see North Korea, under the iron fist of Kim Jong Ill, is perhaps one of the most terrifying examples of government tyrannical control. For capitalism, we see the example of sweat shops used famously by Wal-Mart, and Nike, and many other companies. Historically, while the industrial revolution was a time of great advancement, it was an age of human rights violations that caused the death of men, women, and children.
The truth is that if we want either of these systems to work, we have to become better people. Changing these systems starts on a personal level. We have to become conscious consumers. We have to be aware of the evil things companies do, and then shop at the ones that do as few of these as possible. Many times that means that we cannot shop at the cheapest place, but the trade-off means we are not hurting anyone. Also, we have to vote for laws that protect the marginalized groups. While this at times can seem like socialism, if at the end of the day it saves lives it is the right thing to do.
Jameson Gavin
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