Week 04 -- Response

@joshweertman asked, "Do you believe that Socialism has positively affected countries that have implemented it, or has it done more harm than good?"

Socialism can not positively impact countries in the long term. Rather, it can be a short-term solution to boost a country's industry, but will ultimately stagnate the economy. Socialism has failed each time it has been implemented for a few reasons. The fatal flaw of socialism is the belief the system can make better choices for people than people can make for themselves. This is simply untrue.

There are several countries that have implemented socialism for a brief time and rejected it. Examples include Israel, India, and the United Kingdom. Each of these countries used government control of industry to advance for around two decades, at which point these countries started to lag behind the competition in other nations. The rapid GDP growth in these countries created an increased wealth disparity.

There are definitely positives that come out of a short-term socialist economy. Israel had massive growth and became a stronger country. Issues that brought an end to socialism in Israel were brought on by large amounts of government borrowing and inflation.

Ultimately, socialism in Israel caught the country up to speed with the rest of the world, but could not survive afterward. The country has since transformed into a free market economy with the help of United States experts. Socialism has done more harm than good in a developed Israeli economy.

In all three of the aforementioned countries, expanding populations outgrew the production of nationally run industries. This is why a free market economy with open international trade is valuable. Since reforming to an open market economy, India has saved its middle class and reduced the wealth disparity. The free enterprise economy that has come about in India has given them the fifth highest GDP and a top-five spot in the auto market.

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