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The Equality of Socialism in a World of Advancing Technology

Stewart Brand once said, “Once a new technology rolls over you, if you're not part of the

steamroller, you're part of the road.” (Brand). This quote explains how, as the future of new and

improving technology gets closer, if one is not part of the new technology, they will be taken

over by it. Technology has grown tremendously in the last couple of decades. Between wireless

fidelity, social media, 3D printers, and automated robots, technology has added value to the

world and intelligence to society altogether. These large technological advancements can bring

great improvements, however, it has the potential to pose problems for people in the long run. As

technology is growing, it will soon take the place of the common American’s job. As discussed

in the article “A World Without Work” by Derek Thompson, the growing technology and

machinery are made in order to make manual labor done by humans easier, quicker, and more

affordable. Therefore, as more advanced technology can be used to the advantage of businesses,

they will no longer need the labor of citizens, causing a large mass of unemployment. The article

presents the situation happening currently in a city called Youngstown, Ohio. In 1997, as many

as 50,000 jobs in Youngstown were replaced by automated steel mill machines (Thompson).

Youngstown, is not the only location where citizens are being exchanged for automated

machines. This is happening in many locations within the U.S. and if the unemployment is not

already an issue within the community, it is soon to become a substantial problem. The matters

addressed in this stimulus material arose the controversial discussion of the best government

system needed to oversee the country properly and with the people's best interest, but also
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accounting for the increasing unemployment. In order to overcome this problem of

unemployment that is affecting some people now and will soon affect an abundance of people in

the future, the United States government should change to a socialist economy rather than the

capitalist economy that we have today.

A socialist economy is based on the idea of doing what's best for the community as a

whole rather than each individual focusing on themselves. Within socialism, no individual has

ownership of land, money, or an industry, and instead the community shares these items and

everything, such as production, goods, and property, is distributed equally amongst the people

(Robert and Bradley). This form of government provides no social classes in order for everyone

to be equal. Because of this, everyone is working to achieve the same goal and their earnings are

distributed so that everyone can have enough to live happily. Contradicting to this form of

government, capitalism, which is the government that is currently held, is based on the idea that

every individual has the right to their own property, business, money, and goods. This is referred

to as a free market (Robert and Bradley). Instead of necessities being distributed equally,

individuals are free to pursue their own ideas and worldly possessions. Under capitalism,

individuals compete against each other in order to try to be the best or highest in rank. This

creates social classes, leaving many people poor and in poverty while others stand at the top. The

poverty associated with capitalism will suffer even more with the improving machinery soon to

come in the future. This epidemic of technology is just the beginning of an era of advanced

machinery. The future holds many more opportunities for new and current technology to grow

and prosper. This brings about the skepticism on whether the current capitalistic government will

be able to adjust to the advancing technology and serve its people.

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One perspective that is critical to look at while presenting this argument is economics. As

noted in the introduction, the increase of technology within the community will cause a mass of

unemployment. This unemployment will leave many people with no jobs nor money in the

capitalist system. In ​A World Without Work, ​Thompson contextualizes the issue of how

technology already has replaced jobs of everyday Youngstown citizens and left many of them

unemployed as a result. Capitalist industries, through the exploitation of its workers, disregard

for worker safety and desire for “cheapness,” are constantly making a large number of workers

unemployable (Spargo). This in part can be caused by the fact that economic decisions made

within a capitalist society are made with decentralized, voluntary decisions unlike the economic

decisions made in a socialistic society, where choices are more planned out through centralized

political methods in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the society and citizens as a unit

(Muller). One of the main differences between capitalism and socialism is the government

intervention in the economy. The capitalist government promotes a free market, allowing citizens

to be placed in a hierarchy based on their success. Socialism, on the other hand, is seen as a

social organization whose economic class no longer exists, where produce and profit are

regulated by workers, and workers shape the economic process and benefit equally from it

(Gilabert). Within the socialistic system, individuals would not have to worry about the factor of

unemployment because money, like other necessities, would be evenly distributed throughout the

community. Instead of businesses being privately owned and operated to produce the most profit,

the industries will be collectively owned by the producers and products will be regulated by the

use of them so that there will no longer be involuntary idleness (Nichols). There is no hope in

ending unemployment unless the government ceases to focus on producing for profit but instead
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focus on organizing produce with the single purpose of supplying the needs of every individual

in the society. The focus on the community rather than the individual is the key to a socialistic

society. The philosophy of socialism justifies this morality and explains how it could aid the

society to grow and thrive.

Philosophy in its simplest terms is the study of knowledge. Philosophy can be described

as ethics, how humans should carry themselves and live throughout their lives, and the rational

and critical inquiry into basic principles (Philosophy Basics). The philosophy of socialism has

been examined many times, but it can be traced back to Karl Marx. Marx was a German

philosopher, political theorist and revolutionary of the 19th century. He is known to be called the

father of communism, which is a more extreme version of socialism. He challenged the views of

capitalism and presented solutions to this problem in the form of socialism (Lenin). Through

systematic analysis, Karl Marx wrote the first book of three, ​Das Kapital​. This book evaluated

and exposed the inequality and exploitation that is capitalism (Philosophy Basics). In this book,

Marx refers to Adam Smith’s ​A Wealth of Nations. ​Smith evaluates the inequality that work

holds in the capitalist economy and what is needed in order for there to be equality. Many of the

points brought up in chapter 10 include the counterbalance in employments and the factors that

play into this issue (Smith). Technological advancements will bring about greater issues with

inequality. The philosophy of socialism surrounds the fact that equity within the society will

serve to the advantage of all citizens within the society. The socialistic movement has always had

one main goal: to create a collective community in which necessities are collectively shared

amongst the people and the government (Lenin). Socialism is centered around social rather than

private ownership and gears production towards needs satisfaction rather than profit
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accumulation. On the opposing side, capitalism distributes opportunities and resources unfairly,

facilitates exploitation, and corrupts community and its relationships with constant competition

(Samuel). Socialism, through rationalization of economic relationships and democratizing the

community, has shown to eliminate an abundance of the issues brought on by capitalist

governments. The philosophy behind a socialistic government proves to be in the community’s

best interest and overpower the philosophy of a capitalistic government where only the most

successful thrive.

The values and culture of a socialist economy are very important when deciding on

whether to implement socialism into society. Values can be seen as ideals or customs which the

community share and follow. Many of the cultural values within a socialist economy are based

on the idea of sharing or compromising with one another in order for everyone to have their

share. Housing, recreational facilities, health care, education, sports, cultural activities, and

livable income are available to all and are equally distributed (Investopedia). Values and

characteristics of supporters and include generosity, selflessness, and collaborativity. There is no

competition between neighbors and thus, a better environment is created to focus on the people

as a whole and focus on creating a better community and relationships. Throughout the future, as

technology advances and the human race grows, people will need to work together rather than

compete against each other. Socialism supports this idea, as it is one of the strong values. It will

bring the community together in order for it to prosper.

Aside from the argument that socialism would better benefit the future with increasing

technology rather than capitalism, the opposing side to this argument is that it would be less

beneficial to change to a socialist government rather than a capitalist government. The disputants
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base their arguments on the idea that a socialist government would be unfair to the harder

working people and it would give people little to no motivation. Since all of income and

necessities are distributed, people may believe that without competition there is no incentive to

work. The inequality presented in capitalism drives citizens and encourages innovation, which

then pushes economic development (Domitrovic). There is also the belief that since socialism

has not worked out as efficiently in the past then there is no hope for the future. These are the

common views of the countering argument, which can easily be proven fallacious to the

argument presented at hand.

Contradicting the counterclaim discussed above, the primary concern of socialism is to

redistribute wealth from the rich to the poor in order for there to be equality (Gilabert). The

collective good and equality are valued over the opportunities for each individual to advance for

their own well being. People are all working together in order to achieve the same goal rather

than fighting against one another as is done in a capitalist society. In a socialist economy, the

state is the primary employer; as a result, when there is economic hardship, the socialist state can

order hiring, so there is full employment (Spargo). Also, to address the problem that socialism

has had its issues in the past, the future is the problem at hand. A future where jobs not

necessarily needed to be filled by humans are being replaced with robots or machines. Machines

that can easily and more efficiently get the job done at a fraction of the cost. The problem at hand

deals with issues of the future. The past may assist in creating a new economy, but when looking

at this argument one must not base their viewpoint on the past, but instead the future.

Overall it is necessary for the good of the community and the people within it to evolve

into a more socialist government rather than a capitalist government. With advancing
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technology, many jobs will be replaced by machinery, causing an abundance of unemployed

citizens. In order to make sure that they are off of the streets, a socialist government would

greatly benefit them with the equality and collectivist ownership by the government. The morals

and values of socialism will especially aid communities in the future when technology replaces

common jobs. If the government is not changed, capitalism will cause an abundance of issues in

the future. The inequality of capitalism can be one of the main causes of these issues. Capitalism

can be explained easily: it’s like a pyramid, there needs to be a bottom in order for there to be a

top. With socialism, every individual is equal and all work towards the same goal in order for the

community to excel and flourish through the difficult times that the future will face.
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Works Cited

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Brocklehurst, F. “The Moral Aspects of Socialism.” ​International Journal of Ethics​, vol. 7, no. 1,

1896, pp. 91–95., ​jstor.org/stable/2375377​. 2017.

“Capitalism” ​Investopedia.

investopedia.com/terms/c/capitalism.asp​. 2017.

Domitrovic, Brian. "A Socialist in the White House? No." ​Intercollegiate Review​, Fall 2016, pp.

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Smith, Adam. ​The Wealth of Nations, ​chapter 10, part 1. ​College Board, ​13 March 2017

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of Political and Social Science, vol. 59, 1915, pp. 157–164.,

www.jstor.org/stable/1012903​. 13 March 2017.

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