AP+U.S.+History



Summer Assignment

//1)// //What is capitalism?//

Capitalism is both an economical and political system within a country. Capitalism is practiced when the profit of the country is controlled by the trade and industry of private owners in a competitive market. Our country’s economy is also based on capitalism.

//2)// //What form of capitalism does the United States practice? What are the details of this form of capitalism?// The United States practices a free-market form of capitalism. The free-market system occurs when the state does not intervene when the different groups take part in exchanges. When the state is fully involved, and controls how the goods are distributed, this is called controlled market. This form of capitalism focuses on how the goods are distributed instead of the supply and demands. Our economy also has a combination of socialism. Socialism is a system that has the idea that production are publicly owned and controlled cooperatively.

//3)// //Why does the U.S. practice capitalism – why is it the system that the founders of the United States established?//

The United States practices capitalism because it is a social system that is based on the recognition of individual rights. All property can be privately owned and individuals can also privately own almost anything. It is not easy to own everything that is wanted because not everyone has equal opportunities. In order to buy the things that they want, individuals have to compete for it. By competing for the goods, this contributes to the economy of the nation. This is the system that the founders of the United States established because it is supporting the rights of the people as well as contributing to the economy of the country.

//4)// //What are the positives and negatives of having this economic system?//
 * Positives:**

It is the competition between individuals that thrives our nation’s economy. This economic system allows competition and individual participation is self-regulated. The state does not intervene with the trading and exchanging. All of the individuals have the opportunity to privately own a share of trades. People and businesses have control of their work or business with limited government of control. This economic system is also a bonus because every person has a chance to move up in society by working harder.


 * Negatives:**

This economic system is not perfect, there are many flaws and some individuals are not satisfied with this system. Many individuals have found this system unfair because the distribution of power and wealth is unfair. Economic instability and inequality, unemployment, and many other factors come along with capitalism. The only way for capitalism to be successful, it would require the economy to grow continuously. Another negative of this system is that there are many different classes of society and individuals don’t have the same success rate when competing. The government does not control the businesses so the larger corporations have a greater advantage over the smaller businesses.

//5)// //What is democracy?// Democracy is the form of government that allows all people to have an equal say in the government’s decisions that will affect their lives. This form of government is also known as “government by the people.” There are different types of democracy and one of those types is the direct democracy. A direct democracy is when individuals directly have a say on particular issues. Another type of democracy is the representative democracy. This type of government occurs when representatives are elected to debate and vote for the ideal rights, beliefs, and expectations of the people.

//6)// //What form of democracy does the United States practice? What are the details of this form of democracy?// The United States practices representative democracy. This form of democracy allows the people to elect representatives that will make the most suitable decisions for the people. The representative is elected to listen to the people and vote in favor of the people to make sure that their voices is heard and their rights remain protected. In the United States, the individuals vote for the people who they feel will make up the best possible government. One example would be voting for the president. Almost everyone can vote for the next president as long as they are 18 or older and they are a legal citizen of the United States. A representative democracy is suitable for the United States because the people vote for the representatives that they feel can best express the message that they are trying to tell the government.

//7)// //Why does the U.S. practice democracy – why is it the system that the founders established?//

Democracy allows the government to function with benefits for the people. Democracy protects the rights and the health of the people. The power does not belong to a single ruler but it is in the hands of the people to decide how that power will be used. This is the system that the founders established because this shows that everyone’s voice should be heard and by applying this system, everyone has a chance to show their voice and tell the government system what they are really looking for.

//8)// //What are the positives and negatives of having this system?//
 * Positives:**

Democracy allows the nations to provide equality and power to the people. It is in the hands of the people to decide which leaders will suit them best and help them sustain a better life. Since the people have their voices heard, if they choose to participate in voting, they would not cause chaos. The people have more control over the government and this will help improve the life in the United States. It is because of this system that the rights of the people are protected. By promoting democracy, this secures peace, religious freedom and the rights of workers.


 * Negatives:**

Although democracy has its benefits, there are also negatives. Unfortunately, democracy may not always be fair because people can vote in a biased form. The majority rules in the case of voting so if people were biased, the desired outcome may not always be the true outcome. Since the voting is crucial in this system, the voting must be exact. If something was suspicious with the voting, they would have to redo it, and this may be inconvenient. The frequent voting can cause many changes to the nations and cause instabilities. //9)// //Summarize 4 or 5 of Michael Moore’s main points. Also, please critique his arguments – what does he leave out, what problems do you find with his approach, etc.//


 * In the system of capitalism, there are only two types of people, people who have it all and people who have nothing.**

In the system that we live in, the people who have everything keep everything yet the people have nothing, remain that way. This is not fair because it is not enforcing equal competition. There will be people who will continue to gain while other individuals will lose everything.


 * It is a system of giving and taking, but it is mostly taking away from the people.**

Capitalism is a system that makes profit. In order for people to make profit, they have to find a way to make money but to make money, you need money. When people don’t have the money, they take out loans and refinance their homes. When they cannot pay the money back, the bank takes everything from them. The bank is giving them a chance but they are taking it back faster than most is expecting it.


 * They have the desire to take advantage of other’s misfortunes.**

When someone has lost their path and is down, it is the easiest time to take advantage and that is what Americans do. The General Motors Industry for instance, they knew the state that Germany and Japan were in could not compete with them so they excelled in production. This action made General Motors the number one car industry at the time. People are more worried about themselves making money and living a happy life that they don’t realize that they are taking from other people to build what they have.


 * Capitalism lets you get away with everything, even the death of an employee.**

It is truly sad to hear how heartless capitalism is. Based on what Michael Moore was saying in the movie, the companies make money when their employees past away. This insurance policy is something that they call “Dead Peasant” policy. This isn’t right because the younger the employee is and if they are female, their death is more valuable to the company. I didn’t know that our society was cruel enough to use a person’s death as a way to make money.


 * We have a system that riches the few at the expense of the many.**

The rich and the more fortunate will always stay rich but the people that have to break their backs while working has to pay for what the rich does. The rich and the well known are the ones that get the special treatment. When the companies don’t make enough money, where does it go for help? The government. How does the government have the money? They use the tax payers’ money. This is very unfair, this is why the majority of the people cannot get themselves to move up in society because they are too busy paying for the mess that the greater power has caused. That is why, there are only a few that are rich, and will remain that way but the majority of people are the ones paying for the rest.


 * Critique:**

- Michael Moore should have explained the form of Capitalism that the U.S. practices today. I saw what capitalism is like in our country and how cruel it is but what part of capitalism are we really practicing? - Michael Moore did a great job showing us the affects of capitalism but I think it would’ve been easier to understand and relate to if he focused on a few main points. There is a lot to learn about capitalism but I feel that I couldn’t absorb all the information as much. If Michael Moore went into detail about a few points, I think that I would be interested even more. - I never knew that our society was that cruel. I always thought that when a person died, the money that the insurance provided was for the family to pay off the cost of the funeral and other costs that were involved. I would’ve never thought that society would use a person’s death to make money. Can money really take the place of a person’s life? - I learned a lot about our society watching this documentary. I saw the difference between Wall Street and Main Street. I think that anyone that works in finance would dream of working on Wall Street but I didn’t know that things as complex as derivatives would be involved. The more complex they made it; the easier it would be for them to get away with murder. Has this ever happened?

//10)// //What is the relationship between capitalism and democracy? How do they work together, how do their principles coincide and how do they oppose each other?// When capitalism was rising, it brought along democracy. Both of these systems believe in helping the people, by protecting their rights and giving them a voice in government. The system of capitalism believed that everyone was able to own anything that they desired. The system of democracy gave the people a voice to ensure that they had equal power. These two systems are different because capitalism is promoting competition but the competition is unfair because not everyone is treated equally. Democracy is protecting the people because it is stating that no matter rich a poor, everyone has a single voice in government and it should be heard. Although these systems go together, there are a lot of differences between them and not everyone is happy with the way that the systems work.