18. Economic Systems

Chapter 17: Comparative Economic Systems

	Command Communism	Mixed Socialism	Market Capitalism
What?	Government	Gov't & Consumer	Consumer
How?	Government	Gov't & Consumer	Consumer
Who?	Government	Gov't & Consumer	Consumer
Examples	Cuba, former USSR, North Korea, China	France, Switzerland, Sweden	U.S., Canada, Japan, South Korea
Resource Ownership	Government owned and controlled	Basic resources government owned Rest are private	Privately owned
Resource Allocation	Centralized Planning by Gov't	Key industries directed by Gov't	Market forces
Advantages	Equality for workers Many public goods provided Drastic change possible Little uncertainty Basic needs met	Safety net for non-productive workers Basic needs met Market forces used for non-essential goods Government directed by democratic votes	Efficient use of resources Individual freedom Limited government High standard of living Gradual adjustments possible Decentralized decision making Large variety of goods/ services High consumer satisfaction
Disadvantages	Poor customer satisfaction Little incentive to work hard Poor allocation of resources Inflexible to minor forces Little initiative and innovation Little individual freedom Inefficient bureaucracy	Inefficient Little incentive to work hard High tax rates	Basic needs unmet Personal/business uncertainty Public goods not produced Poor fit for intangible values (justice, education, health care), Market failure possible

Lenin–"From all according to their abilities to all according to their needs"