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=Capitalism & Democracy AP Summer Assignment=

1. What is Capitalism?
What is Capitalism? Hooker, Richard. "Capitalism." //Washington State University - Pullman, Washington//. 7 July 1999. Web. 03 July 2011. . "Capitalism - Definition of Capitalism by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia." //Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary//. Farlex, Inc. HarperCollins Publishers. Web. 03 July 2011. .
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2. What form of capitalism does the United States practice? What are the details of this form of capitalism?
[Former Answer] "The United States practice Vulture Capitalism. This is when Capitalist abuse and exploit their power and money. Their fakes views towards the safety of their workers and democratic freedoms launched them into Tyrants. The United States fell from the leadership they had over centuries and turned into a nation where the rich and powerful steals and abuses while the laborers work for low wages, products at high prices, unconstitutional working conditions, and death. Vulture Capitalism is refereed to as the "free market system". This form of capitalism takes many high paying jobs because of the high amount of immigrants coming to the United States. Basically, this Vulture Capitalism can be defined in these words, the poor get poorer, and the rich get richer. "

[New Answer] The United States has a Mixed Economy. This is the combination of socialism and capitalism. This type of economy is gaining max freedom without trying to over throw the government. According to some groups, mixed economy produces chaos and violence. They say in this type of economy, people will have to act against their interest at one point. Americans rely on private ownership, knowing one day, they could have a chance to get rich. But in mixed economy, there is a limit to free enterprise. Governments intervene when prices in the economy don't work. They provide to build roads, education, and many more. In summary, a mixed economy, is when some enterprise are privately owned, and some are publicly owned. "Capitalism is taking and giving, mostly taking." "Capitalism lets you get away with anything, like making a profit with the death of an employee" - Michael Moore Livergood, Norman D. "Vulture Capitalism." //The New Enlightenment//. Web. 03 July 2011. . "Capitalism — Infoplease.com." //Infoplease: Encyclopedia, Almanac, Atlas, Biographies, Dictionary, Thesaurus. Free Online Reference, Research & Homework Help. — Infoplease.com//. Columbia University Press. Web. 03 July 2011. . "mixed economy." // Dictionary.com Unabridged //. Random House, Inc. 29 Jul. 2011. . "A Mixed Economy: The Role of the Market." //Economics at About.com//. Web. 29 July 2011. . "Mixed Economy." //Importance Of Philosophy//. Web. 29 July 2011. .
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3. Why does the U.S practice capitalism- why is it the systems that the founders of the United States established?
One factor that the U.S practice capitalism is the role it played to end slavery. The North had booming factories from the industrial revolution and needed workers. This was the very idea of capitalism evolving. Capitalism needed skilled workers who could be relied on, while slaves are unskilled and uneducated so they would be useless in the evolving economy. Also, Capitalism isn't necessarily a bad thing, it improves rapidly the conditions humans live in. Capitalism wipes out poverty, diseases, and the need for child labor. Capitalism invented mass production so that the quantity and diversity of goods would increase. The very idea creates wealth, the very object that all people need in this world to survive. "Capitalism Is Life." //Capitalismislife//. Web. 03 July 2011. . "Did Capitalism Helped End or Prolong Slavery in the US and Elsewhere [Archive] - Physics Forums." //Physics Help and Math Help - Physics Forums//. Web. 03 July 2011. .
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4. What are the positives and negatives of having this economic system?
media type="custom" key="9927191" "What’s so Bad about Capitalism?" //Ssc.wisc.edu//. 10 Feb. 2007. Web. 3 July 2011. . Clayton Morgareidge. "Why Capitalism Is Evil." //Welcome to Lewis & Clark//. 22 Aug. 1998. Web. 03 July 2011. .
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= 5. What is Democracy? = What is Democracy? Miroslav Kolar. "What Is Democracy?" //What Is Democracy?// 17 Aug. 2005. Web. 04 July 2011. . "History of Democracy." __Http://library.thinkquest.org//__//. 4 July 2011 .// //**6. What form of Democracy does the United States practice? What are the details of this form of Democracy?**//  //Representative Democracy is practiced in the United States. This is when the citizens elect officials to have the authority to rule the nation. The elected officials have the responsibility to act in the people's interest. All government systems have flaws, and so does this. Corruption within the officials is a possibility with the over whelming power they hold. Not all the elected officials ever directly talk to the interest of the people, instead, most act on their interest with problems. Citizens don't have a direct say of the problems and issues. They vote once every couple years and when they do, the person might not have their interests in their mind. Also non-citizens have no say in this government.// //**Sources Used-**// "representative democracy." //Dictionary.com's 21st Century Lexicon //. Dictionary.com, LLC. 04 Jul. 2011. <Dictionary.com__ [|http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/representative democracy] __>. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"Representative democracy - Metagovernment - Government of, by, and for all the people." //<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Main Page - Metagovernment - Government of, by, and for all the people //. N.p., 17 Oct. 2010. Web. 4 July 2011. <[]> The revolutionary war was a factor to the nation practicing democracy. The British exploited and abused the colonies. They limited their trading rights and democratic rights of their brothers. British refused to give full rights to the Americans and they were outraged. British kept implying unlawful taxes onto them without representation. Basically, the British used the colonies for economic gains, for the war they had with the French Currently. All the colonist wanted was a voice, a say, to be heard about what they wanted. Each problem divided the colonist away from the British, each step into developing a new identity, known as Americans. Soon there was the revolutionary war. The Founding Fathers wanted to avoid tyranny as carried out by the British, they wrote the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. This gave rights to all colonist to have a say in their government. This was the first step towards democracy. " Causes of The Revolutionary War." //American History and World History at Historycentral.com the largest and most complete history site on the web//. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 July 2011. <[]>
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 * 7. Why does the U.S practice democracy- why is it the system that the founders established?**
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8. What are the positives and negatives of having this system?
media type="custom" key="9931041" //<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Main Page - Metagovernment - Government of, by, and for all the people //. N.p., 17 Oct. 2010. Web. 4 July 2011. <[]>
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===9. Please watch Michael Moore's 2009 documentary "Capitalism: A Love Story" and summarize 4 or 5 of his main points. Also, please critique his arguments- what does he leave out, what problems do you find with his approach, etc. Make sure you relate the film to your earlier research on capitalism and democracy.=== One of Michael Moore's main point of his documentary is that capitalism is evil. It is one of the key ideas through out the film. They show how it "steals" from the citizens and how businesses have no soul or feelings, but just want to maximize profits. Foreclosure happens, and the police evict the residents. Crime Rates grew sky high, job cuts increased, while the rich get richer. These are effects of capitalism portrayed in the documentary.

Another main point of Michael Moore's documentary, is that the political power is corrupted beginning with Ronald Regan. He was the spokesperson of Wall Street and Corporate America. The companies wanted Ronald to remake America to work for them. Don Regan who was the treasury and secretary of the United States in order to file the tax cuts the rich wanted. What's funny is that Don Regan was the chairman of a company which was successful in what they did. This was the beginning of America being ran as a cooperation. Companies profited to the billions through out his presidency. Productivity increased while the wages stayed the same. The top income tax for the Richest Americans were cut in half. Another example of corrupted politics would be George W. Bush. While he was messing around in his last year of presidency, while the economy was in toil, he encouraged Capitalism. Judge Mark Ciavarella and Judge Michael Conahan were examples of the corrupted judicial branch. They wrongfully convicted kids to send them to Juvenal Halls to make money. The kids experienced the first hand sight of Capitalism.

State and Religion is separated within the United States, but what about Religion and Business? Michael Moore interviews a several priests about Capitalism. Father Dick Preston considers Capitalism to be a huge sin. It contradicts everything in the Christian Religion. He said it went against the common good, compassion, and the holy book. "Capitalism is wrong and has to be eliminated", Father Dick Preston quoted. Father Dick Dougherty has similar views. He also thinks its immoral and absurd because of the many negative effects of Capitalism. "It is radically evil", said by Dougherty. The Church must feel strongly against Capitalism. The main point, Capitalism is a SIN and it goes against religious beliefs.

Lastly, another main point of the documentary is that Wall Street controls the nation and controls the politics. Wall Street experienced economic failure until Treasurer Hank Paulson proposes to bail them out. At first the House of Representatives and Congress voted down the bill, but Wall Street got the help of the democrats. The $700 Billion dollars used to bail out the rapid decline in stocks and investments were no where to be found. Moore asked Elizabeth Warren where the money was, and she replied, "I don't know." What did Wall Street do with the tax payer's money, and how did it benefit the people of America? It's a simple answer, Capitalism stole the money from the people so that the rich can profit even more. Wall Street is the dictator of Capitalism.

Michael Moore left out the positive effects of Capitalism. All that he put in the documentary was the evil and negative sides of it. People should know both sides of Capitalism so they can put it on a scale, and see what out weighs the other. The documentary showed the the job cuts were increasing to the thousands, but in my earlier research, Capitalism created jobs for many individuals. Also, it prevents poverty, while in the documentary, the foreclosures and bills cause poverty. Michael Moore's approach confused me a little. The documentary in the first minutes showed a guy living in Peoria, Illinois getting their house foreclosed by the bank. And than a hour into the documentary, they show him again. What was the point with this approach? Was it to give us a little background knowledge of what Capitalism can do? Is it possible for Capitalism to be its own worst enemy?

Brooks, Xan. "Capitalism: A Love Story | Film review | Film | The Guardian." __Latest news, comment and reviews from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk__. 6 Sept. 2009. 07 July 2011 <http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2009/sep/06/capitalism-love-story-review>. "Capitalism: A Love Story." __Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia__. 07 July 2011 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitalism:_A_Love_Story>.
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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?
Capitalism is a type of economic system. Democracy is a type of political system. Together, they balance out the flaws within each other, but could potentially, be the end of each other also. Some thinkers say democracy rose with capitalism. Others say democracy is how we organize ourselves to act capitalism. Capitalism falls under a main subject, keeping and profiting. While Democracy is more of sharing, and equality. Capitalism is more pessimistic while Democracy is more optimistic. Democracy could end capitalism because with capitalism, the top 1% of the nation may have money, but the bottom 99% of the poor have virtually all the votes. These precious votes could end Capitalism because these votes control the branches, and congress. Democracy is a say from the people and how they want to run their country. Capitalism will be unpopular with the people, and they will decide to end it eventually if its unpleasing. Although, Democracy and Capitalism work together too. The people allow this to happen because, in a capitalistic nation, everyone has an equal shot for the same opportunity. Not everyone is created equal, but they have an equal opportunity. The people allow this Capitalism to happen because some day they hope they or their kids will be the rich and powerful. Cereijo, Manuel. "CAPITALISM AND DEMOCRACY." __Guaracabuya, Revista Electronica__. 07 July 2011 <http://www.amigospais-guaracabuya.org/oagmc158.php>. "Democracy and Capitalism." __The Ethical Spectacle__. Apr. 1996. 07 July 2011 <http://www.spectacle.org/496/demo.html>. Coyne, Chris. "Capitalism and democracytake two | The Economist." __The Economist - World News, Politics, Economics, Business & Finance__. 31 Aug. 2007. 07 July 2011 <http://www.economist.com/blogs/freeexchange/2007/08/capitalism_and_democracy_take>.
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