Why are capitalist views the most popular views today?

Capitalistic views seem to be most dominant economic system across the globe but why is that? Capitalism promotes motives towards the people under the economy which in favor boosts that country’s economy. Not only will the government be appreciative and like capitalism but so will the people under the rule. Capitalism is primarily the only economic system that actually works for both its people and the government.

This is posted for Sam Binesh

Could true communism exist today?

Some countries to this day claim they are purely communist but obviously have their flaws. Is it possible today to even have a true communist country? An example of an issue that renders a pure communist country impossible would be the no leaders policy. The country is to be run by the people. The problem with this would be the difficulty in exchanging negotiations and trade agreements with other countries. Another problem with it would be finding a representative for the country in events such as UN Meetings or the Olympics. If there is a representative, would that country then still be considered truly communist?

This is posted for Sam Binesh

What if Mao ruled like Stalin?

Mao was a communist leader that is portrayed as less brutal than Stalin. But what if he was worse? Instead of cow sheds, what if he had his own prison like the gulags Stalin had? If Mao were to have a prison, like the Gulag, how would it have affected today’s China and would the prison still be around? I believe China may be in a more true communist state today if Mao enforced his laws more brutally. The more strict laws would impose more obedient citizens and change how we would look at China today.

This is Sam Binesh's

Cuban Missile Crisis

The Cuban Missile Crisis is an event that affected the US/Soviet relations in a really negative way, almost causing these two great superpowers to go to war. The USSR  had just become Allies with Cuba because of the US deciding to invade Cuba in an attempt to overthrow Fidel Castro. Cuba was so close to the US, so they decided to take advantage of it. The USSR sent their missiles to Cuba and gave them first strike capability which scared the US. The US took quick action on this by asking the USSR to take the missiles out of Cuba immediately because that will lead to war. People were really tense because of this and were thinking that war was inevitable. However, the Soviets and the US didn't really want to go to war so the Soviets and the US tried to reach to an agreement. The Soviets said they would take their missiles out of Cuba if the US promised not to attack Cuba. The US agreed and the USSR took their missiles out of Cuba relieving all tension. This was a significant event, but luckily, the US and the USSR didn't go to war.

Non Communist China

Today we have the UN, but before the start of WWII we had the League of Nations. Now we know that the power struggle in China began just before the start of WWII when Japan invaded China. We also know that the League of Nations did nothing to stop Japan. But if the League of Nations was actually able to stop Japan from invading would China have come out a different country then it is today? Also do you believe that because China is communist the worlds economy is better?

British Inventions during WWII

Britain the one country who fought for the entirety of WWI and WWII ( Unlike the Americans), wasn't seen as a super contributor to WWII. People say the only reason the Allies won was because of the US. Yet Britain did a lot more then what people know. One of the first things invented in Britain at the start of WWII was the radar. Yes the British did in fact invent the radar. They used this technology to their advantage during the Battle of Britain in the 1940's. The Brits also built the first computer. And no the well known U.S. company Apple did not, I say did not invent the first computer( so hah ten points for G.B.). The computer first computer was in fact used to crack the German code. So all in all Britain was a huge contributor during WWII.

What If Hitler Didn't Kill The Jews

What if Hitler did not try and exterminate the Jews. Would the war have ended differently if Hitler instead of trying to kill them had them volunteer for his army? Germany most probably could have won WWII if it wasn't for the mass extermination of Jews. Think about how many strong young men where sent of to death camps just because they where Jews. Do you think Nazi Germany could have won the war if they had recruited the jews instead of trying to kill them?

What is Communism

Throughout all of history we have seen many different aspects of Communism through the form of countries, many people and historians can agree that they where not accurate aspects and views of Communism. each and every communist leader had his own view and expression of communism, whether it was a mix of two other isms or their own, for example Leninism, Stalinism, Maoism and so on. What do you think is the proper definition of Communism and have we seen something like this before? Which communist leader was the closest to bringing his country to a true communist state?

Living in the Soviet Union during the Cold War

During the Cold War, the standard of living in the USSR was abysmal. The government put a large portion of its money into the military, instead of its economy. To quote a wise man, they were: "Choosing guns over butter." There was a consistent lack of consumer goods, and the people would have queue for hours, and spent inordinate amount of money on those consumer goods. The wait time to buy a car was seven years. Inflation was also an issue. A 32 cent bar of soap could cost as much as $1.60. It took years, but in 1990, Gorbachev introduced a market economy. What would you have done if you were in Gorbachev's position?

Beginning of the Cold War

In the Cold War, the US and the USSR had two opposing aims which aided the development of tension in their relationship. Russia, being very communist, wanted to spread their ideals among other (weaker) countries in hopes to have superiority over the US, while the US promoted democracy and encouraged other nations to rise against communism. The US basically wanted to smooth out all of the tensions that rose from WW2 and create stability among Europe.

Russia was power-hungry and wanted to leave everything the way it was after the end of WW2, even though it was surrounded by corrupt nations. Russia's main goal was to rebuild its economy, and produce industrial items, as the Cold War begun. 

Both sides were threatened by one another and their opposing views made it more difficult to fix all of the damage created previously. Do you think if they understood each others perspectives, that the Cold War would have played out differently? Who do you think had the most beneficial view for both of them (who was right)? 

Why communism is not ideal

We were able to see Russia's government slowly collapse through the Cold War, as government leaders ran their country under a flawed system. Government leaders saw Lenin as the original revolutionary and wanted to maintain his ideals, although overall, their country was suffering substantially. Government leaders believed that communism was set in place and resisted change, despite the fact that the people opposed it.
Russia was a country filled with resources accessible to provide the people with, but they were never given what they wanted - they were forced with whatever the government allowed them to have possession of. Russia found itself constantly competing with the United States in production for material goods and weapons, as well. Do you think that Russia would have benefited if it was run under a different system? How would it would it be worse than staying with their original government?

Mao's Success

Throughout Chairman Mao's reign, he was very successful and was portrayed as a strong leader. During the Chinese Civil War, he only asked the army to attack if he knew he could absolutely win. Mao said, "When they attack we retreat. When they are tired, we attack." Mao's success on the battlefield made him, as well as his country, strong, and a force to be reckoned with. A huge percent of China was peasants. He believed that if he could gain support of the peasants, he could gain support of the country. Mao promised to the peasants that if they won the war, he would give them two square meals a day. He also staged an intermission of taking from the rich and giving it to the poor(the peasants), which gained support from the majority of the population. Mao also did a good job of eliminating his enemies. During the Hundred Flowers Campaign, he asked for feedback from anyone who had problems with his policies. Those who opposed him, he arrested. Mao's Red Guards helped destroy any other enemies such as people who threatened his authority or power. He used a system of dehumanizing other authorities by calling them "cow demons" and "snake spirits." The Red Guards destroyed all authority, other than Mao, that he dehumanized. After Stalin's death, many people spoke about the flaws of his reign including the Soviet's new leader, Khrushchev. The criticism towards Stalin, a man whom Mao had praised, scared him as he wanted to be known as a strong leader during life as well as after his death. To avoid being disliked later on, he earned praise from the young people of China. He did this by instructing for his red book to be taught that describes Chairman Mao's successes, which essentially made the young people praise him. Although Chairman Mao also had many failures, most people only saw the good in which he had done, making him a very successful, strong leader.

How the Cuban Missile Crisis Added to Tension

Cuba's government, lead by Fidel Castro, released thousands of exiles into the United States, causing a massive invasion at Bay of Pigs. Tension between the United States and Cuba was at its peak, forcing the United States to impede the invasion by mass destruction of Cuban ships and weaponry. Although the US and Cuba had their disputes, the Soviet Union saw Cuba as a reasonable ally to begin the development of missile sites.
The alliance formed by the Soviet Union and Cuba created more exasperation between the US and Soviet relationship. It threatened the United States in a different way than before because it could have given Russia an advantage during a possible nuclear war.
Ultimately, since President Kennedy placed a quarantine on the construction of missiles and offensive weapons, Russia didn't have access to an "advantage," but the tension between the US and Soviet Union was still present.

America's Backyard

Despite Guatemala not being apart of the United States of America, they still like to keep a close watch on them. Politicians these days and in the 60's were mainly funded by big corporations to allow them to take what they want. One of the biggest companies, the Unites Fruit Company owned a lot of land in Guatemala. Well, more than three-hundred thousand acres of land, ports, railroads and even the Telegraph/Telephone company. When President Arbenz takes office, a democratically elected president, the USA decides it needs to intervene. President Arbenz wanted to nationalize the land of Guatemala and give it to the people. This would cause USA companies to lose a lot of money and possibly run out of business.  The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) are deployed into Guatemala to overthrow the leadership. Do you believe what the CIA did was justified?

Why was Germany so successful from 1939-1942?

From 1939-1942, Germany was extremely successful on the battlefield. In 3 years, they reclaimed the Rhineland and also took Poland, Denmark, Norway, and large portions of Russia. The German army was so successful because of Blitzkrieg and Hitler’s nationalism. Blitzkrieg was a very successful battle tactic used by Germany during World War II. Blitzkrieg means "lightening war," which is exactly what Hitler wanted to have as it would use less resources and less men would die, keeping Hitler's army strong. Blitzkrieg would start with the Luftwaffe which would bomb a point on the enemy line. The German tanks would then break through the enemy lines. The tanks and infantry caused distracting chaos behind the initial enemy line and would then turn back to encircle, or surround, the enemy. This battle tactic lead to German success because it took advantage of the weaponry, tanks, bombers, and artillery, effectively. Hitler's nationalism to his country allowed Germany to be widely successful. When Hitler came to power, people were excited for change. Hitler quickly improved economy and re-militarized, giving many people jobs. He also united the country by eliminating all political parties other than the Nazi party. People quickly put trust into him as he had done so much to improve Germany. The uniting and rebuilding of the economy gave Hitler the support of the entire country which enabled Hitler the countries permission to go to war. Hitler's Germany, in 1942, only began declining because his ingenious battle techniques were used against him.

Outsourcing

As many countries begin to lose money to bigger corporations such as Walmart or Apple, how will the US economy and others change to compete? One word comes into mind for most and that would be outsourcing. The definition of outsourcing means to obtain (goods or a service) from an outside or foreign supplier, especially in place of an internal source. What this means is to move your company where your paying at least $9.25 an hour to producing your item in China where your paying only a few cent per hour. Despite still needing to ship the items back to America companies are still making an increased profit margin allowing companies to keep their businesses alive and in the black. Even if it means moving only one branch, it can be enough to keep a business open. Outsourcing is great for the country that are having many more jobs opening for their people but can be horrible for the country losing said jobs. What do you think? Do you think outsourcing can actually help maintain more jobs for the ones that are losing them? EX. US loses jobs to China due to cheap labor, can this help maintain jobs in US?

After Mao

On September 9, 1976, Mao Zedong passes away leaving China in a poor state. Next up to bat would be a politician named Deng Xiaoping. Unlike Mao's view on communism, Xiaoping saw things much differently as he visits the United States of America early on in his term. This is very significant as this is something Mao would never do as USA believes firmly in Capitalism. Already people can expect to see a lot of change with this new leader. To allow for the China economy to recover from all of Mao's mistakes that he never admit to, Xiaoping brings the country towards a market economy for the first time. This is not something the normal communist would do as everything should be controlled by the government. He also reformed many other things such as agriculture and industries. By giving the peasants lands under contracts, production was great and overall it was a great idea. Xiaoping encouraged small businesses and yet again another thing communist would never allow. All of these reforms were very successful in helping the economy grow and fix all that Mao had done.

What allows authoritarian and totalitarian governments to come to power?

Although not an ideal government, during the pre-World War II period, authoritarian and totalitarian governments came to power. What exactly allows this type of regime to take power? When individual countries are struggling with economy, famine, or other things, they blame the government. When the people feel as if their government is failing, they find ways to elect a new government either through revolution, such as the Russian Revolution, or other ways. Many of the leaders of these totalitarian and authoritarian governments come to power by promising it’s people a better life. For example, Benito Mussolini of Italy promised to revise the economy. Hitler of Germany promised to create new jobs. When new leaders come to power, they begin their reign by brainwashing/convincing the people that they are doing things to better the country. For example, when Hitler came to reign, his first acts were to reoccupied the Rhineland and created a propaganda. During the pre-World War II period, many countries converted to forms of authoritarian government as they felt strong leaders would make a better life for them.

Was the Cold War inevitable?

Was the Cold War inevitable? During WWII, the US and USSR allied up to take down Germany. But after the end of WWII, their alliance just was not strong enough to survive, ultimately resulting in the Cold War. Even while they were allies, they generally distrusted one another and didn't like each other. The USSR always wanted the US to put forth more effort and push forward faster and the US had always hated communism. Before WWII, the world was very multipolar, but after WWII, the US and USSR seemed to not take much damage and the world was more bipolar, putting these two nations at the top of the hierarchy, putting them both in a situation where they felt threatened by the other. Also, Stalin was very communist. He believed communism was great and wanted to spread it to weak countries. He was very powerful and his views were so different than the US's so they had to do something. The US saw this as a threat and started initiating containment. Because of these reasons I believe the Cold War had to happen sooner or later, but I can't help but wonder if there was anything they could have done differently to prevent this war from ever taking place. Do you think there is anything the US and USSR did wrong that could have prevented the Cold War entirely? Or do you think there are certain details that could have ended the Cold War much sooner than it did?

Why the USSR collapsed.

When Mikhail Gorbachcev was elected the leader of the Communist Party in March 1985 it marked the true beginning of the end of Soviet Union. Gorbachev was set out to help the crashing economy and to widen his hated regimes popularity. Mikhail’s answer to these problems was his two-tiered policy of reform. Part of this reform was initiating a policy of glasnost or freedom of speech.  Gorbachev did not realize was that giving people complete freedom of expression that he was also unleashing emotions and political feelings that had been held in for decades. The soviet people used their freedom of speech to criticize the failing government and nationalistic rebellions began in spring up across east Europe.  These rebellions spread like wildfire burning up in the Soviet Union’s satellite states. These states includes East Germany, Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and beyond. They all demanded democratic reform. In 1989 the East German regime fell to a revolution that brought down the Berlin Wall. The Berlin Wall was constructed in 1961 to separate East Germany (communism) from West Germany (capitalism)and reigned over as the symbol for communism. Despite the USSR politically falling it also faced many economic issues that led to their downfall. The economy of the USSR was a command economy. This means that the government has total control of all production and chose what was to be produced and how much was to be made. Eventually overtime the command economy imploded and caused the USSR to collapse. The cold war was also to blame for making the economy worse. The cold war was the tense relationship between the Soviet Union and the United States. One of the main problems of the economy which was caused by the Cold War was that the USSR would focus on heavy industry over consumer goods which left people waiting on long lines and traveling up to 100 miles just to get meat. Together these flaws ended the economy