The
United States prides itself on it's strength, it's stability, it's
power. There is no doubt that United States emulates the ideal of
capitalism and is a country who promotes equality not only on its own
soil, but also in foreign nations, namely in the Middle East.
However, the country still has far to go as far as equality between
men and women; this is contrary to many other developed countries,
most of whom have managed to bridge the gender gap to a considerable
degree. What is the main difference between the United States and
many of the highly developed countries of Europe? I would argue that
it the system of government. There is a large difference between the
capitalism of the United States and the democratic socialism typical
of the progressive nations of Europe, such as Denmark, Norway, and
Sweden.
It
is important to define capitalism and democratic socialism.
Capitalism is an economic system where “the market forces determine
what is produced (supply will meet demand), goods will be produced at
the lowest possible cost and only those and are able and willing to
pay 'the market price' will gain access to these goods” (University
of Notre Dame). In a capitalist system enterprises are privately
owned and operated. Democratic socialism is a system in which there
is “popular, democratic control over the allocation of capital”
(University of Wisconsin). Nations which emulate the capitalist
model, namely the United States, tend to provide less social welfare
and less educational aid than their democratic socialist
counterparts. According to research and observation, the capitalist
system also seems to be less effective in creating gender equality.
For
example, countries which emulate the system of democratic socialism,
such as Sweden and Denmark, have a higher margin of women represented
in government and in education. In 2012, women made up 43% of the
parliament in Sweden, compared with the United States, where women
made up only 16.6% of congress (Women in the United States
Congress: 1917-2012, Congressional
Research Institute). In
Sweden, two thirds of college degrees are awarded to women, where in
the United States, women comprise 58% of all graduates (2010)
(Institute of Educational Sciences). Bloomberg Newsweek
presented a report which measured and ranked 143 nations based on
gender equality. The countries were evaluated based on life
expectancy, salary parody, access to high-skilled jobs, access to
basic and higher education and the representation of women in the
government. Surprise, topping the list were the democratic socialist
countries (in order) of Iceland, Norway, Finland, and Sweden. The
United States was ranked 19, not a shameful ranking, but for the most
powerful and democratic nation in the world, one would expect more.
This
is not an argument for socialism, it is simply observing the
difference in gender equality in two very different systems. I do not
believe that is the system of democratic socialism which is the cause
of such equality, it is the ideas of the system- the idea of
collectiveness and sharing which by definition would prevent gender
inequality. Even in nations which lean heavily towards capitalism
(but retain some basic ideas of socialism, such as nationalized
healthcare), such as Canada, have more gender
parody than the United
States. Because socialist
principles are still retained to some degree, the ideas are also
retained to some degree- the idea that helping to collective group
also benefits the individual. Capitalism is an effective system which
motivates its subjects to work and invent, to compete and to improve.
In the United States this is especially true. Would the Wright
Brothers have been motivated to create the airplane? Would Ford have
worked to create an affordable automobile? Would facebook exist? I
would argue that capitalism is the reason for these creations, which
have added to the world in innumerable ways. However, this
competition prevents the creation of nationalized healthcare
(healthcare organizations have the right to compete for customers)
and highly aided institutions of higher learning (these schools have
the right to compete for students as well as for teachers based on
salary and tuition). The competition and the strength of capitalist
ideology demand extreme individualism and therefore people are less
willing to open up opportunities to others (this would encroach on
their ability to succeed). The system has no doubt prevented rapid
progression of rights for women.
How
do we resolve this issue? How do we blend the wonderful results of
capitalism (the inventions, the work ethic, the economic growth and
power) with the gender parody resulting from democratic socialism?
This is especially difficult when the idea of socialism is considered
'radical' and 'dangerous' in capitalist nations (not irrationally,
considering examples of failed socialist governments turned into
totalitarian regimes). Women in the United States have worked
towards equality and have made great gains, even within such a
system. I have to argue that in order to retain it's level of power,
women of the United States may have to continue to work towards
gender parody in the same manner as in the past.
