Free Market Capitalism vs. Socialism: a simple Analogy

Texas Tech, Free Market Capitalism vs. Socialism: A Simple Analogy ^ | 4/1/2010 | Steve Latter

[Cybercorrespondent]

As explained in a free market, Capitalism vs. Socialism by an economics professor at Texas Tech, Steve Latter. An economics professor at Texas Tech said he had never failed a single student before but had, once, failed an entire class. That class had insisted that socialism worked and that no one would be poor and no one would be rich, a great equalizer. The professor then said ok, we will have an experiment in this class on socialism. All grades would be averaged and everyone would receive the same grade so no one would fail and no one would receive an A. After the first test the grades were averaged and everyone got a B. The students who studied hard were upset and the students who studied little were happy. But, as the second test rolled around, the students who studied little had studied even less and the ones who studied hard decided they wanted a free ride too; so they studied little. The second test average was a D! No one was happy. When the 3rd test rolled around the average was an F. The scores never increased as bickering, blame, and name calling all resulted in hard feelings as no one would study any longer for the benefit of anyone else. All failed, to their great surprise, and the professor told them that socialism would also ultimately fail because under capitalism when the reward is great, the effort to succeed is great; but when the government levels the playing field and takes more of reward away; no one will try or want to succeed as much as before. Could not be any simpler than that…. Free Market Capitalism vs. Socialism: A Simple Analogy

Signing off My prayers to you all

Just a concerned citizen who calls himself Cibercorrespondent

[Cybercorrespondent]

An economics professor at Texas Tech said he had never failed a single student before but had, once, failed an entire class. That class had insisted that socialism worked and that no one would be poor and no one would be rich, a great equalizer. The professor then said ok, we will have an experiment in this class on socialism. All grades would be averaged and everyone would receive the same grade so no one would fail and no one would receive an A. After the first test the grades were averaged and everyone got a B. The students who studied hard were upset and the students who studied little were happy. But, as the second test rolled around, the students who studied little had studied even less and the ones who studied hard decided they wanted a free ride too; so they studied little. The second test average was a D! No one was happy. When the 3rd test rolled around the average was an F. The scores never increased as bickering, blame, and name calling all resulted in hard feelings as no one would study any longer for the benefit of anyone else. All failed, to their great surprise, and the professor told them that socialism would also ultimately fail because under capitalism when the reward is great, the effort to succeed is great; but when the government levels the playing field and takes more of reward away; no one will try or want to succeed as much as before. Could not be any simpler than that….

[mbarker12474]

Is this a true story or one of those things that folks send around via email?

[Some hope remaining.]

Surely must not true but it’s likely what would happen.

Bump for reality. :)

[Codeflier]

I think I have read this about 85 times over the years in different iterations of educational environments.

[LoneStarC]

Interesting analogy, very much like one found in early american history, which is preserved in our Thanksgiving tradition.

The Plymouth Colony was established, not in it’s religious, but in its economic system as a democracy. The settlers agreed to pool their resources and their work, much as a modern “commune.” As a result they darn near starved.

After (at least according to the Thanksgiving legend) friendly local Indians took pity on them and bailed them out, they revised their economic program from “to each according to his need, from each according to his ability” to a more workable, “if you don’t work you don’t eat.”

The new economic miracle that resulted was more or less adopted in the emerging country and led to the rise from a poor outpost of civilization living mostly in log huts with mud stuffed in the cracks to the richest, most powerful, most free nation on earth.

Then along came the progressives with the utopian dream of taking us back to our roots. Not the roots of 1776, but the roots of 1620. Now the utopian dream is recast as “from each according to what he has earned, to each according to what he has not earned.”

Who knows, if Miles Standish had had a teleprompter, maybe we could have been a socialist paradise all along.....

[Gandalf_The_Gray]

The story I heard involved a "rich Republican" father explaining the socialism/capitalism difference to his newly liberal, college freshman daughter. He suggested that she should share half of her GPA with her "party girl" room mate who is on academic probation. His daughter replied "that's not fair, I work hard for my grades". Father replies, "welcome to the Republican party".

Regards,
GtG