Characteristics of a market economy (Investopedia)
1. an economic system in which economic decisions and the pricing of goods and services are guided solely by the aggregate interactions of a country's citizens and businesses
2. there is little government intervention or central planning
Strengths of the economy
1. government doesn't intervene on prices on goods
2. changes of supply and prices to meet the demand of the consumer
3. new skills of social, technical, and knowledge
4. more incentives and profits
Weaknesses of the economy
1. distribution of wealth tends to lean more to the people with the most profits
2. increased gap between the upper class and the lower class
3. corruption in companies
4. illegal activity
5. due to the knowledge of profits for more production, people care less about the environment
6. anti-social behavior; more about one's self than others
Site where I got the pros and cons of the market economy (there are more than the ones I listed):
http://www.nyu.edu/projects/ollman/docs/china_speech2.php
Social Cooperation: Why Thieves Hate Free Markets
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79ZosnxGKgk
The global economy is a runaway train that is causing more and more suffering in the world. The current 'profit before people' system is causing the gap between the very rich and the very poor to grow larger each year. In order to transform the global economy into a true global community, we need to create a Better World Economy - an economic system that gives value to other commodities besides money. Then we can create more sustainable local, national and global communities. |
