...freedom to thrive–the freedom to be left alone. America is the land people set sail for–to get away from big government, to find freedom, to make their fortune. We have to first understand what made America great before we can even think about influencing the rest of the world. Some candidates for President like Hillary Clinton and Sen. Marco Rubio think we should spread American style-freedom and democracy around the world. But is hasn’t worked out so well. In Hillary’s war in Libya the so-called freedom fighters won, but now chaos and jihadists rule. Our ambassador was assassinated and now ISIS is a serious threat. In Iraq, over...
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...works of literature have changed history in the United States so much as The Jungle did when it was published. Does Sinclair Lewis make a compelling argument for socialism in his book, The Jungle? I think that the answer to this question is going to be dependent on what you end up believing about socialism. A die hard socialist is probably going to point to Sinclair's ending with zeal and passion because it proves that Jurgis could only find a home when renouncing capitalism and its perverse interpretation of the American Dream. I think that Sinclair believed in the socialist ending of his novel. Yet, I want to pivot the question a bit. While the socialist claim might not be persuasive, like Marx himself, Sinclair is probably more eloquent on suggesting that the current capitalist system, the one being written about at the turn of the century, is in desperate need of repair. His persuasion might lie in his critique of capitalism more than his embrace of socialism. “The Jungle by Upton Sinclair, exposed the nauseating conditions of Chicago’s meat packing industry.” (Goldfield, David R. The American Journey: A History of the United States.) He couldn't have been very happy that the book gained fame for a different reason, but nonetheless it did gain a significant amount of fame and get that message of socialism is better than communism out to the public widely. There are a lot of different characters in The Jungle, and they all have some significance in their roles. These...
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...Running head: HEALTHCARE REFORM 1 Obamacare or Socialism? Daun Taylor POL201 American National Government Professor Martin Connor August 27, 2012 HEALTHCARE REFORM 2 Obamacare or Socialism? There has been much of a debate since the signing of President Barack Obama’s Healthcare Bill. People started throwing around words like government control and socialism, stating that it was a description of a new legislation. The people are afraid that the system will destroy the free market economy and will take away the people’s right to choose. “The massive law pushing the United States toward universal health coverage won Supreme Court validation on June 28 in a decision that advances the most ambitious reshaping of American social policy in generations (Woodward, C. 2012).” They have repeatedly said that this bill is constitutionally questionable and the government does not have the right to obligate the whole nation to purchase healthcare insurance. According to the opposition, President Obama is lobbying for disguised tax on employment and consequently the number of uninsured Americans will increase. “The overhaul is unfolding in stages and is to peak in 2014 when all Americans will be required to have health insurance, with a few narrow exceptions (Woodward, C. 2010).” In...
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...1900's life in Chicago was met with an overwhelming amount struggles for the working class. Families were forced to send their children to work in factories, jobs paid barley paid enough to scrape by, and jobs were often extremely unsafe. In his book, The Jungle, Upton Sinclair makes it clear that working life in America is miserable, and changes need to be made. For Sinclair this change is socialism, a form of government that focuses on economic equality for all. Sinclair believed that socialism would save the American people from the corruption and greed caused by the capitalistic system, but Americans knew very little of socialism or the possible benefits. Sinclair decided to take the political movement into his...
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...the late 1890's from places such as Ireland, Poland, Italy, and Lithuania . These people were ill equipped to deal with the harsh realities of urban living in America at the time. In his book Sinclair shows how capitalism creates pressures that undermine the traditional family life, cultural ties, and moral values that these immigrants had brought with them. With "literally not a month's wages between them and starvation" workingmen are under pressure to abandon their families, woman must sometimes choose between starvation and prostitution. Children are forced to work rather then attend school, just to keep starvation away for one more day. The Socialist Party of America was founded in 1901, and for over a decade after that saw enormous growth, by 1912 they had over 1,200 elected public officials in the country, and during the election of that year had very good election results by their candidate Eugene Debs for President (Dickstein). The growth of the Socialist movement primarily took place in the vast heartland of the United States, as it was undergoing the strains of industrialization. The roots of this movement were based on reforms to the social and economic systems that were keeping the immigrants enslaved by the current systems that were in place. The 19th century saw rapid industrial expansion in America. Between 1800 and 1900 the per capita income rose from $200 to more then $1200 (numbersusa.com). However, the distribution of wealth was uneven, 1% of the population...
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...destructive because he shows it as favoring those in power while denying social progress and advancement in the working class. American capitalism destroys the social and economic hopes of Jurgis and his immigrant family. During their move from Lithuania to America, they come based on the promise of higher wages and a happier, more free life. Instead, they find themselves deceived and basically forced to work in horrible conditions in order to afford to live in America. Capitalism allows the rich to get richer, typically in illegal ways. The bosses of the meatpacking industry can continue to ignore food violations because they bribe the health inspectors, as shown many times in the book. Jurgis feels as if socialism is the only way they will get equality rather than the capitalist emphasis on wealth. One of the main themes of The Jungle is the evil of capitalism. By relating the story of a group of hopeful, hardworking immigrants who are deceived and destroyed by corruption and the evil of capitalism, Sinclair tries to give his readers a sense of sympathy while implying the idea socialism. I believe that Sinclair was pretty persuasive when it comes to the tremendous problems capitalism creates and why he believes socialism is the better idea. Just about every event in his book portrays a particular failure in capitalism. Capitalism is thus portrayed as total evil, from its greedy destruction to the willingness of industries to sell diseased meat to the public. His goal was to...
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...The Hungarian Uprising of 1956 and the Prague Spring of 1968 were key events that shaped the outcome of the Cold War. Both countries were under the Soviet control during the post-war period. After the death of Stalin, when Khrushchev became the leader and the secret speech of destalinization have seen the daily light both countries introduced their own paths to socialism, first Hungary and 12 years later the Czechoslovakia. Both of the events had similar and different causes and consequences, which will be analysed in this essay. Hungary as well as Czechoslovakia wanted to reform their system. Both countries wanted the reforms to find ‘National roads to socialism’, or as they called it in Czechoslovakia, ‘the socialisms with a human face’. Both countries before the reforms were led by hard line Stalinists, which were one of the clear causes that led to the destalinization and the reforms. In Hungary the leader before the introduction of the reforms was Matyas Rakosi, or as the Hungarian sometimes called him, ‘the Bald Butcher’. He was incredibly unpopular within Hungary; he has murdered many people, hard to estimate the number, and imprisoned over 200,000. He was closely linked with the Hungarian secret Police the AVH, which were even more unpopular and hated than Rakosi himself. As well as in Hungary, Czechoslovakia had their hard line communist dictator. His name was Antonin Novotny, and as well as Rakosi he was very royal to Stalin and Moscow. He wasn’t as hard-line as Rakosi...
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...Microeconomics Paper: Economic systems Yang Cong Professor Memmos Aug 1st, 2012 Table of Contents 1, Introduction of economic systems 2, the analysis of capitalism 3, Example of capitalism: the U.S. 4, the analysis of socialism 5, Example of socialism: China 6, the analysis of communism 7, Example of communism: North Korea 8, my favorite one is socialism 9, Conclusion There are three main economic systems in the world which are capitalism, socialism and communism. Nowadays, most developed countries are capitalism and they have certified that capitalism is better; the greatest developing country which owns the second high GDP in the world, China, is socialism, it seems that socialism is not bad; only a few countries are still communism like North Korea which has a low economic increment speed. Different systems have their own advantages and disadvantages, so it is necessary for the government to figure out which one is suitable for their countries. “Capitalism is an economic system that is based on private ownership of the means of production and the creation of goods or services for profit. Competitive markets, wage labor, capital accumulation, voluntary exchange, and personal finance are also considered capitalistic (Wikipedia).” Capitalism can greatly promote economic development, this is the main feature of capitalism. The necessary material of human is produced by human labor, the purpose of economic activity is to save labor time which is also the greatest...
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...Ona Rudkus. Two immigrants from Lithuania who moved to America to pursue the American Dream. We read about the ceremony taking place and how a woman named Marija Berczynskas directs it trying to make everything go accordingly even though the music was a failure. In the beginning we see the traditions and customs for Lithuanians. We get a detailed description of these customs and interactions that take place. One of these customs was to drop money in a hat to pay tribute to the family and help the couple to pay for the ceremony. Many of the guests invited take advantage of the couple and don’t pay and this leaves the couple in debt. Sinclair explores the meatpacking industry in the 1900’s. It scrutinizes the working conditions and sanitation of the meat industry through the life of Jurgis and Ona Rudkus....
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...things will be run. Without profits being made, the incentive to make processes and services quick can disappear. This can lead to poorer goods and services for public consumers. Since everyone is “equal” in terms of the government there is a lack of innovation. There is less or no financial incentive for people to develop new products and services or for businessmen and entrepreneurs to set up new companies. The low motivation interferes with employees to better themselves by working towards a better paid job. Irresponsible public spending can eventually lead to runaway inflation. America is built on the foundation of a capitalist economy. As a nation, we are too advanced and diverse to conform to a socialist economic...
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...socialist undertones brought an advent of great social and legal change to the United States.] With its stunning entrance into American literature in 1906, The Jungle created an uproar that has endured over a century since its publication. Upton Sinclair was an ardent proponent of socialism in America and yearned to reform the ailing country (Fogel). His novel was produced as a metaphor, comparing a jungle directly to the corrupt meat packing industry based in Chicago. Sinclair sought to expose the unknown atrocities hidden in the meat packing industry, which was not forced to obey any form of regulation (Shafer). Sinclair wrote that, “It was like some horrible crime committed in a dungeon, all unseen and unheeded, buried out of sight and of memory” (Sinclair 56). This fictional piece of literature brought America to a screeching halt. Never before had such a bold statement been made about an industry that affected almost every single American. Upton’s lurid detail in the novel caught hold, and the book soon spread like wild fire, as did Thomas Paine’s work entitled “Common Sense” in the Revolutionary time period. In such a bold fashion, Sinclair’s novel quickly called for change all over America: socially and legally. Upton Sinclair was a classic muckraker, intending to facilitate social change and achieved marked social change in...
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...every single action that we made was basically owned and operated by the government. Now, imagine the opposite. Imagine that you are free to make the choices that you want without having to give your rights up to the government. I know, at times, we feel that America is truly run from the government and we have no choice; but, compared to other countries, America has a lot of freedom when it comes to the rights of the individuals. The economic system that the United States uses is capitalism. Capitalism is the economic system that is also known as the free market system, and is based off on private ownership, economic freedom, and fair competition. Other countries, however, use socialism as their economic system. Socialism is based on the principle that the government should operate some of the key enterprises that affect the welfare of the public. Finally, some countries choose to use communism as their economic system. Communism is based off of the principle that the government should operate and direct almost all enterprises. Clearly, these three economic systems are very different in the way that they operate. In this paper, I am going to compare and contrast the three types of economic systems: capitalism, socialism, and communism. Capitalism, also known as the free market system, is the economic system used by the United States. Because of capitalism, we have what are called fundamental rights. Fundamental rights are rights that the people have because of living in a...
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...The Rise of Socialism and Communism: Marxism “The classes and the races, too weak to master the new conditions of life, must give way. They must, perish in the revolutionary holocaust” (Karl Marx). Marxism was created in the mid-1800s by two German philosophers named Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Since the beginning of the 21st century Marxism has been making a comeback due to Marxism-Leninism in Asia and Eastern Europe, different morals of the upcoming generation, and due to the fact that it is one of the key components of the Communist style government that is being introduced around the world. Marxism-Leninism was created together in 1929, which was 5 years after Lenin’s death, by Joseph Stalin. Many communist parties today imagine it...
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...| Capitalism vs. Socialism during the 1920’s | Diamond Jackson | | History II Dr. Hilton | | | Upton Sinclairs’ The Jungle is a common form of muckraking during the 20’s. The book is about a Lithuanian family who relocated to the US in hopes of finding success and building better lives. After hearing the story of how America supports the idea of freedom, and has unlimited opportunity, the main character Jurgis is convinced America was the place to be. Once arriving to America and coming in contact with the reality of the myth of his ideal society, Jurgis exposes the deeply rooted capitalism and the effects and problems that it causes. Because of this, Sinclair feels that socialism is the remedy to the capitalistic conditions he’s now a part of. Andrew Carnegies’ The Gospel of Wealth is a viewpoint of how beneficial capitalism is to American society and economy which is seen through the eyes of a high-class businessperson. Carnegie discusses the history of there being an equal society, the natural law of competition, and the capitalistic results and benefits. Sinclairs’ The Jungle and Carnegies’ The Gospel of Wealth are opposing viewpoints, therefore when it comes to the unequal distribution of wealth and ideas about capitalism and socialism both arguments are supportive and reasonable to a certain extent. In the 1920’s, the unequal distribution of wealth is evident and Americans start to see many cultural changes. America has now adopted the idea of...
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...What Is Democratic Socialism? Democratic Socialists believe that the economy and society should be run democratically - to meet the needs of the whole community, not to make profits for a few. To achieve a more just society, many structures of our government and economy must be trasnsformed to through greater economic and social democracy so that ordinary Americans can participate in the decisions that affect our lives. Democracy and socialism go hand in hand. All over the world, wherever the idea of democracy has taken root, the vision of socialism has taken root as well- everywhere but in the United States. Because of this, many false ideas about socialism have developed in the U.S. With this booklet, we hope to answer some of your questions about socialism. • Large corporations seem to be an almost permanent fixture in the US, so what is the point of working towards socialism? In the short term we can't eliminate large corporations, but we can bring them under democratic control. Government could use regulartions and tax incentives to encourage companies to act in the public interest and outlaw destructive activities such as exporting jobs to low-wage countries and polluting our environment. Public pressure and trade unions also have a critical role to play in the struggle to hold corporations accountable. Worker ownership of large corporations is another important possibility for democratizing our economy, and one that has recently seemed more and more attainable. ...
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