Essay about A Comparison of Communism versus Capitalism

A Comparison of Communism versus Capitalism Communism versus Capitalism is a debate that has raged on for over two centuries. Whether to allow everyone equal opportunities and to do with those opportunities as they please or to mandate class equality in order to keep peace has in itself been the cause of wars. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels saw the working class of the world--the proletariat--being squashed by the greedy business owners--the bourgeoisie. In their view, the bourgeoisie owned too much and the proletariat had no chance to make their own fortunes. In Marx and Engels Communist Manifesto, they propose doing away with private property, nationality, and even countries in order to take power away from the bourgeoisie.†¦show more content†¦the oppressed. Smiles believes that the spirit of self-help is the main cause for success in individuals and is the source for the strength of nations. Marx and Engels would disagree. In their opinion the working class have no country because it is all owned by the bourgeoisi e. Smiles sees a world in which every citizen, with hard work and determination, can become as successful as they want to be. He even points out that some will naturally succeed more than others and that everyone may not rise equally. To Smiles this is due to a person’s ability, not the upper class making it impossible. To Marx and Engels, it is exactly the opposite. Marx and Engels believe that the members of the working class are slaves to the bourgeoisie and that the working class had their opportunities for success taken away by industrialization. Perhaps the largest part of Smiles ideas that Marx and Engles would have a problem with would be his thoughts on the poor. To Smiles, the reason the poor are poor is that they are lazy and that they have given up and resigned themselves to their fate. In Smiles eyes, they make no plans for the future and have no hope of ever working their way out of poverty. The poor do not take advantage of the opportunities offered to them by civilization. The ignorance and self-indulgence of the lower classes has in itself been the cause of social degradation and misery. SmilesShow MoreRelatedThemes in Science Fiction Essay example1414 Words   |  6 Pagesin the books, helping to develop some of the themes. The ideas and themes that appear in media are often based on events that occurred during the time in which the work was created, as well as the creator’s own ideals. As a result, through the comparison of the original novels by Wells and their film adaptations, it is possible to see how society as a whole has changed over a century’s time, and how the themes present in these works of science fiction have changed as well. 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