Communism and Capitalism DBQ

Part 1: Document Analysis

Document A: Adam Smith on Self-Interest

1. Analyze: What does Smith mean when he says “the natural desire of every individual is
to improve his own condition”? Explain.
a. This means that everyone is doing what they have to to survive and thrive. They
are taking jobs they don’t like so they can get money and make their lives better.
2. Summarize: Why does Adam Smith believe the butcher does his job (Explain beyond
just “self-interest”)?
a. He does his job so he can support himself and his family. He wants to be able to
feed his children and make sure they have a decent life.
3. Interpret: Do you agree with Adam Smith that people do their jobs only out of
self-interest? Are there any jobs that people might do for a different reason? Explain.
a. I agree with Adam Smith because everyone has jobs for selfish reasons. Even if
they are doing jobs because it will improve society, they are still doing that job
because it makes them feel better that they are contributing to improving society.

Document B: Adam Smith on Competition

1. Analyze: According to Adam Smith, why is competition a good thing? Explain.

a. Competition is a good thing because people always find problems with things and
compete to make the best product.
2. Summarize: Please read the second paragraph. What is the main point of this
paragraph? Put it in your own words.
a. People don’t live to obtain food, clothes and houses. They live to obtain luxuries
and make their lives nicer.
3. Interpret: Do you think it is a good thing that the “industry of mankind” is not being used
to supply our basic needs, but to supply “the luxuries of life?” Why or why not?
a. I think it is because if we were only living to have food house and clothes then
there would only be jobs for people who make food jobs and clothes. There
would not be a market for literally everything else we have. All the people making
cell phones would be out of business.
Document C: The Communist Manifesto

1. Interpret: How does Marx seem to view the idea of self-interest in the first paragraph (ie.
a good or bad thing)? How is this similar or different to Adam Smith?
a. He believes that the bourgeoisie's self interest is ruining society. He thinks that
they are the reason that the lower class is struggling. He thinks that society
should be controlled by the government rather than by the people.
2. Close Reading: What are some of the words, phrases, metaphors, descriptions, etc Marx
uses in the second and third paragraphs to explain the current condition of the
 proletarians (working class). Does the working class seem to be valued by society?
Explain.
a. He says that they have “lost all their individual value” and explains how no
bourgeoisie care about them on an individual level and that they all just care
about the whole.
3. Close Reading: Please re-read the fourth paragraph. How does Marx justify his idea that
all private property/possessions should be eliminated? Do you find this convincing?
Explain.
a. He believes that the working class does not really have private property and that
when society shift no one should. He believes that they should take the
bourgeoisie's property and convert it into common property.
4. Analyze: Re-read the last paragraph. What does Marx believe needs to happen to create
a more equal society? Considering the context (ie. what was going on at this point in
history), do you think Marx was justified in believing this? Explain.
a. He believes that they need to violently overthrow the current social system and
rebuild all of it.

Document D: “Katia,” a 16-year-old ninth grader from Moscow (quote) (1980)

1. Describe the speaker’s point of view about capitalism.

a. She does not like capitalism because she believes that it makes finding jobs
harder and she does not want to be unemployed.

Document E: Ralph Waldo Emerson (adapted)

1. According to the author, why is capitalism successful?

a. He believes capitalism is successful because it’s self-adjusting and flows. He
also says that people will do what they need to to get property.

Document F: Friedrich Engels, Principles of Communism

1. Who controls the means of production and all property in a communist system?
a. The government controls all means of production and all property.
2. What happens to competition in a communist system?
a. Competition is abolished.

Document G: T.P. Whitney, “The Russian Peasant Wars on the Kremlin” (1954)

1. Why are Andrei and his family slowing down the pace of their work?
a. They are slowing down the pace of their work because they are constantly on a
slowdown strike. They don’t love their produce going to communism and they
don’t like not getting a good tax refund.
Document H: Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, The Communist Manifesto (1848)

1. What do the authors think that people get out of industry progressing?
a. Instead of rising out of industry progressing they sink deeper and deeper into
poverty.

Document I: Harry Schwartz, The New York Times (1952)

1. According to the author, what aspects of life are improved under communism?
a. Benefits are better under communism. They get free medical care, social
insurance for old and disabled.

Part 2: Personal Response

Statement: Communism is the necessary solution to class struggles.
In your response, please use two documents for direct quotes and reasoning as a
reference for your answer. You may write it out or answer in an SFI. Both must provide a
micro and macro. This will be a discussion in class on Tuesday.

Thesis: Communism is not necessary to solve class struggle, it takes away necessary jobs by
eliminating personal property and competition.
Intro: Communism is a economic structure were the government controls all of the means of
production and all property.

Statement: Communism eliminates jobs that were providing luxuries.

Fact:“The industry of mankind is employed to obtain the luxuries of life according to the nicety
and delicacy of our tastes.”(Adam Smith)
Interpretation: This shows that people love excessive things. They want private property and
with communism they don’t have it. Also, wanting these luxuries means that there are people
who need to make those luxuries. That provides a lot of jobs that there would not be in a
communist society.

Statement: Communism also eliminates competition which eliminates jobs.

Fact: “It will… abolish competition…” (Engles).
Interpretation: This quote shows that communism is meant to abolish competition but without
competition there will be half the amount of jobs. People are never satisfied with what they
have. They always want to improve things, so in a capitalist society, there are always at least
two companies competing to make the best product. Right now in America, we hae Apple and
Android both competing to make the best smartphone. This means that we have two times the
amount of jobs we would have if we only had one company and no competition.
Micro: Communism eliminates jobs because it eliminates competition and luxury. People live to
try to make their lives better and get the best life they can but communism is based around
settling.
Macro: Communism is made to eliminate class struggle and make everyone equal but that is
not human nature. It is human nature to compete and to try to be better than everyone else.
Communism does not eliminate class systems, it only shifts them. It makes the government
officials the upper class and the workers the lower class. Communism is great in theory but
there is far too much for a single government to control to make it work.