Communist Vs Capitalism

In a communist society, the citizens are a pretty much close-knit group. In countries such as Vietnam or China, most neighbors would know one another for many generations. Close friends treat each other as if they are their own family members. Families that are in the middle-upper to the upper classes can afford to live in brick houses, while the rest of the population (which consists of mostly middle-lower to lower classes) stay in wooden or even straw shelters (they are not really houses but more like shacks). Every corner you turn, poverty claims its existence. "Malnutrition and starvation are very common"(Editorial 2). Unlike a democratic society, freedom of speech does not take place in a communist society. Everything you do or say is being watched by government cadres or their spies (the Red Scare). In a capitalist society such as the Americans, family values do not exist in very many households; while in a communist nation such as Vietnam, "the family's sentimental veil"(Marx 24) remains despite the poor living condition in which many low-income families face.

Given these actual facts, Communism proves to not be particularly evil but can also be beneficial, too. On the same token, it limits the freedom and individuality that make someone who they really are. Even though Capitalism does satisfy individuality, yet, it tears away the ideal practices of family values and moral values, altogether. One cannot say that either Communism or Capitalism is healthy or unhealthy, because both of their existence place positive and negative effects on any present society.

Works Cited

Dam, Julie. "Release." The Gioi 16 Nov. 1995: 37-43.

Tran, Ha Nhu Ana. "Summer of Love.3/4 1997. http://www.realsaigon.com/feature/summer/summer.htm (24 Jun. 1997).

Editorial. "The Vietnamese Generation X.3/4 Apr. 1995. http://www.vinsight.org/0495/genx.html (25 Jun. 1997).

Karl Marx and Frederick Engels. "The Communist Manifesto.3/4 http://www.leftside.uvc.ac.za/Archives/1848-CM/cm.html (25 Jun. 1997).