As most people know, there are several different schools of thought when it comes to economics. There are three main schools of thought in mainstream economics; those being Austrian, Monetarist/Chicago, and Keynesian.
Austrian: The Austrian school of thought was the main economic policy in most of the world back mostly before the American Civil War. Nowadays, the Austrian School has mostly been done away with. The main features of this system are near to complete free markets, competing currencies or gold standard, and no central banking. Free Markets: Free marketing is exactly what it sounds like; free trade without any obstruction. People voluntarily make transactions, businesses come and go and there is no regulation. Criticisms against this type of market are mostly because people want regulation for businesses. An example of regulation is the banning of lead paint due to health hazards, or limiting carbon emissions. Austrians justify this position by attempting to explain the 'invisible hand of the free market', which is a theory that says consumers will have an almost darwinian effect on businesses, killing off the bad ones and keeping the good ones. In practice, this has worked rather well for many societies. Competing Currencies and Gold Standard: The Gold Standard was a policy from before the Civil War in America, and it backed currency with a set amount of gold. This was meant to control inflation of currency, and worked rather well for them. In today's world, most economists feel that the gold standard wouldn't do anything but hurt the economy. Competing currencies is something that hasn't been tested all too much, but may pretty soon.
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Capitalism is an economic system that came about by feudal systems in Europe, and the emergence of mercantilism in the world. There are several different subsections of capitalism, and I will attempt to give an overview of some of those.
In general, capitalism is defined by private citizens owning capital. Capital can be assets, private property, and other things of that nature. Private enterprise is the vessel in which capitalism operates in; where private citizens trade between each other freely. There are different currencies that can be used within capitalism, and they are typically separated by what they're backed by. Back when the United States of America was set up, we had the gold standard. The gold standard said that our paper money is always backed by a specific amount of gold, and can never go above that amount of gold. This was a way to combat inflation, but has since been phased out and replaced by the Federal Reserve, making our money a fiat currency, or unbacked. Unfortunately, in capitalism, people are often put down and some have unfair advantages. Wealth inequality is a big criticism from communists and socialists, as they claim the unfair advantages lead to families gaining vast amounts of wealth, and refusing to put it into charity. Wages are a big part of capitalism, as people work and their employers give them a certain amount of money. The money could be either payed in salary, which is a fixed amount every year/month, or it could be hourly, which is a fixed rate every hour. The minimum wage was set up in 1938 in the United States. This forces employers to, as you guess it, pay someone's wage at or above the minimum. There are several different sects of capitalism as well. The three main ideologies within capitalism are Keynesian, Austrian, and Chicago/Monetarist. Keynesian economics came out of the Great Depression, and was developed by John Maynard Keynes. He is considered to be one of, if not the, most influential economists ever. This ideology established the Federal Reserve, and is a very complex and different take on econ, compared to the other two. The general theory he put forth was that during recessions and depressions, aggregate demand, or total spending in the economy, is necessary. There is much more room for subsidies and bail outs in this system, and is the principle theory that is put to use in America today In the Austrian school, there is a very polarizing theory to that of Keynesian. Where Keynesians advocate for total spending in the economy, Austrians advocate for saving. Austrian economics is the predominant economic school of thought in Classical Liberalism, and ideology that the Founding Fathers mostly followed. In Austrian econ, there is no subsidies or bailouts, they just let the free market run it's course. Most Austrian believe in the "invisible hand of the free market". Monetarist Theory stemmed from Milton Friedman, an economist who was the advisor to Ronald Reagan, and Margret Thatcher. He advocated for a fixed inflation rate, and open markets. It is kind of a middle ground between Austrian and Keynesian. .National Socialism is a very different concept than the modern day, Bernie Sanders-esque socialism. National socialism was most successfully implemented in the real world by none other than the führer of Germany, Adolf Hitler. The National Socialist German Worker's Party, often abbreviated to the Nazi Party, came to power in the late 1930's in Germany, and set up a totalitarian state.
National Socialism and Fascism are often thought to be interchangeable, but they are in fact two distinct ideologies. Fascism is exemplified better by Benito Mussolini, who was good friends with Hitler. National Socialism focuses mostly on the 'national' part, as extreme nationalism, be it ethnic, religious, or civic, is very important. In Germany, ethnic nationalism of aryans and the preservation of that race was part of the policy of the government. National Socialism is an extreme authoritarian ideology, and mostly in the center of right/left wing. The economics of national socialism, at least by Hitler, pulled Germany out of a very big depression. National socialism is against free markets, as several industries were nationalized under Hitler. Hitler rejected both capitalism and communism. Anarcho-Capitalism (AnCap) is a radical ideology that pushes absolute individuality and completely free markets. This ideology is mostly focused on economic issues rather than social, as the social aspect of anarcho-capitalism based around one thing: Do what you want, as long as you do not violate the rights of others.
Some major figures that helped establish the ideology is Milton Friedman and Murray Rothbard. Both are economists, advocating for laissez faire markets; laissez faire meaning 'allow it to be' in French. The term was adopted by Jean-Baptiste Colbert. He is attributed to bringing back France's economy after nearly going bankrupt in the mid 1600s. Things such as the police force, courts, and military would be completely privatized, meaning that it would be a business instead of a government controlling it. Anarcho-capitalism is pretty obviously a form of anarchism, so there would be no government controlling anything. The ideology is the purest form of capitalism, and private property is a very important tenet of capitalism. Of course, there is not anything stopping someone in a society that follows this ideology from stealing someone else's except for private courts, police etc., so most AnCaps follow the Non-Aggression Principle, or NAP. The NAP is the only thing close to a moral code in this society, as it states the rights and wrongs of someone's actions. Though most AnCaps do not believe in things such as natural rights, they uphold the NAP as what someone should follow. So, what does the NAP state? For one, do not violate other's personal rights. That means things like violence, murder, stealing and 'initiation of force' onto another person. There are disputes on things such as abortion, intellectual property, intervention, non-humans, and the existence of a minimal state. The basic economic ideology that Anarcho-Capitalism is the Austrian School of Economics. It is called Austrian because there were several different figures coming from the region of Austria that set up this school of thought. There are no regulations to any business or trade whatsoever, and no central bank, such as the federal reserve. Inflation basically non existent in this ideology, due to the lack of central banking. Taxation is seen as theft, as the state unwillfully takes money from citizens with the threat of imprisonment. My Thoughts on Anarcho-Capitalism: Though I am a big advocate for personal freedom, Anarcho-Capitalism is too extreme for me. I feel that the threat of imperialist countries would be too much for a private military, and the justice system would be flawed, or corrupt. The need for a state for protection, education, and justice is something that I feel is required for a functioning society. Plus, in theory, it sounds great, but people would take advantage of corruption and capital gain. Though capitalism is something I agree with, unrestricted capitalism would be harmful to the general population. I also feel that some climate issues would go completely unchecked, and humanity's survival would be at risk. Take Hong Kong for example, it has the most free economy in the world and also the worst air quality. Humanity's survival is more important to me than personal freedoms. The Republican Party is one of the two major parties in America today. Modern day followers of the ideology follow mostly authoritarian rightist views, which include strict immigration, and supporting the war on drugs and terrorism. A great example of a Republican leader is Ronald Reagan, who was president from 1981-1989. He inspired a generation of young voters, and put in place the controversial reaganomics. The Republican Presidential Candidate for the 2016 race is Businessman Donald Trump, who has said many controversial things in his policies. He advocates for very strict immigration policy, and a bigger military budget to combat ISIS.
Being one of the most popular ideologies in America today, republican policy in my mind is not something I want to follow. I used to follow republicanism, but stopped after a while because of the complete harshness and war-like nature of the leaders of the party. Things like completely stopping immigration from parts of the world is unrealistic and very unconstitutional. Hypocrisy runs rampant in the party, as many claim to follow the constitution while installing several policies into law that go directly against the constitution. Overall I am fine with republican leaders, as they are to the right on the political spectrum, as I am. Hi! Here I will cover many different types of ideologies present in the vast world of politics. Anything from Communism to Anarchy, nothing shall escape. I will also provide my personal opinions with arguments against it or for it.
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