I have long held the opinion that Capitalism and Socialism are not mutually exclusive. I believe that a judicious combination of Capitalism and Socialist policies is the best system for any society. It would take care of the different types of people and the varying nature of even an individual's character under different circumstances. This is what is needed to motivate people to work, put in mental and physical effort to become productive yet take care of those vulnerable or temporarily going through tough times. These two philosophies keep the two facets of humans balanced and in check - tending to limit each other's excesses.
China today, is perhaps the most successful Communist and Capitalist society at the same time. It appears have both these aspects complementing each other and benefiting its people as a whole. There is much for the world to learn from this - from its socialist policies to lift hundreds of millions out of poverty to creating a large class of capitalist entrepreneurs from the smallest to the largest in scale. The competition among capitalists seems to have improved the quality of the products coming out of it, the more central planning helps in achieving economies of scale. It can produce virtually all its daily necessities for its citizens and for almost the rest of the world. It can export what it has in surplus and import what it desires or needs. It is far less dependent on the rest of the world for its daily sustenance than perhaps any other country. I am sure it has not achieved perfection and there are many problems that it wrestles with. Yet, there is so much that the rest of the world can learn from it and is forced to look at critically now.
Now, every country will start to think about how to learn the best practices from different countries and make themselves better and its own citizens more prosperous and secure in themselves.
Copyright (c) Kannan Narayanamurthy 2020
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