A Candy Economy: Representing Capitalism, Socialism and Communism with Hershey's Kisses!
We represented communism, socialism and capitalism in class in a more simplistic way, using Hershey's kisses. The simulation started with the teacher, representing the ruler, handing out the candy. The majority of the class received 3 Hershey's kisses, but some received 10. This showed how some people started with unfair advantages. We then played rock paper scissor, and the winner took a Hershey's kiss from the loser. Obviously, the people who had 10 Hershey's kisses had a better chance of staying in the game longer, and didn't have to work as hard as others to get the same result. In the end, some people ended up with a lot of Hershey's kisses, and a lot of people ended up with none. This represented capitalism. Everyone had a "fair" chance in getting a lot of Hershey's kisses, except for those who started with 10. In theory, this system seems fair, and in some ways it is. The majority of people have the same chance to get a lot of Hershey's kisses, and those who ended up with a lot mostly won a lot at rock paper scissor to get them. But, some people who started with 10 didn't have to win that many games to stay at the top. We then all sat down, some of us had no Hershey's kisses left, and some had more than 10. The teacher then collected all of our Hershey's kisses, and gave each person 3. We then had the opportunity to play rock paper scissor again if we wanted to get more Hershey's kisses. Some people chose to do this, but the majority of the class stayed seated, content with their 3, not wanting to risk losing them. Some people who played ended up with more than 3, and some ended up with less. This represented socialism. Each person was given the same amount of Hershey's kisses, and they had the opportunity to try and get more. You also had the option to stay with the 3 that you had. This is fair because everyone gets the same amount, but can try and get more if they want. Some people who try and get more end up with less than they had to begin with, but that is a risk that they took in trying to get more. It is not fair because the people who tried to get more Hershey's kisses ended up with less than those who did no work. The teacher than once again collected all of our chocolates and gave each person three, but this time there was no opportunities to play for more. This represented communism. Each person received the same amount. It was fair because nobody had any more than anyone else, but it wasn't fair because some people worked harder than others and had the same as them. All three of these systems have their faults, and none give equality to everyone.
Karl Marx and Adam Smith were two men who had vastly different ideas on how to create a steady economy. Adam Smiths theory was "the invisible hand". He believed that the government should not intervene with the economy, and allow people to deal with it themselves. He believed that they would do whatever was necessary to create competition between people so they would all have enough money. An "invisible hand" would guide the economy without the help of the government. In theory, this works flawlessly, but if put into practice, it may take longer for the economy to get to this point, and most governments would feel it necessary to step in to help guide it rather then letting the people do it themselves. Smith created his theory mainly to benefit the poor. If the people had to compete with each other, they would be more inclined to sell higher quality products at lower prices, so the poor could afford it and have more options. Marx also believed in helping the poor, because his theory was communism. He stated that what happened in our class experiment would happen with a society, going from capitalism to socialism and finally ending with communism, creating a classless, equal society. He saw how some people were working hard in capitalism and failing, and others weren't working hard at all and were still wealthy. He did not believe that this was fair, and wanted to create a society where everyone was given the same amount of money so that nobody was poor, or too wealthy.
I believe that The Invisible Hand is the best theory. I think that in this theory, people would receive what they deserve. Those who work harder would receive more money, and those who do not would not receive as much money. The theory still allows for everyone to have enough money, and the competition would help more people to have enough, and nobody to have much more than others. This theory would also allow higher quality things to be sold at lower prices because of how competitive the economy would be. This would allow people with less money to still be able to afford nicer things. The theory also does not include the government, so the people in the society completely control their economy, and all have a say in it.
The Invisible Hand- 60 Second Adventures in Economics
No comments:
Post a Comment