Peronism Is A Valid Form Of Government

During the election of 2016, America watched as history was made. For starters, a woman was almost elected to be the 45th president of the United States. Not only that but also that woman was the first to even win the nomination of a major political party! That was not the only prominent thing about 2016’s presidential election. Senator Bernie Sanders, who deems himself to be a democratic socialist, very nearly won the nomination for the Democratic Party. Sanders’ campaign was so much more successful than anyone else could have expected, and it sparked many debates. One such debate is whether or not socialism is a valid form of government. On paper, socialism seems to be a very legitimate form of government, but history is it against it. Still,

The Encyclopedia Britannica defines it as a “social and economic doctrine that calls for public rather than private ownership or control of property and natural resources (Ball and Dagger).” There have been several examples of it over the course of the last hundred or so years, some of them have worked out and some have not. Peronism is a good example of a socialist government that has out so well. Under the Peronist regime that existed in Argentina until 2015, the economic growth slowed drastically while inflation rose (Meltzer). Until Margaret Thatcher was elected as prime minister and effectively revolutionized the British economy, Britain also suffered in a socialist regime (Meltzer). Allen Meltzer claims that capitalism inspires growth and innovation while socialism does not (Meltzer). He also points out how costly socialism can be- if Senator Sanders had been elected to be president, then all of his socialist plans would have cost taxpayers around $3 trillion (Meltzer). This is a lofty sum of money, and understandably this caused many Americans to be skeptical of the senator’s election. That does not mean that they would not, however. In fact, 47% of Americans have said that they would vote for a socialist candidate (“Americans’ Willingness to Vote for a Socialist

The most prominent example is that of the Scandinavian countries- namely Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. Under a socialist government, these countries have not suffered as the other countries have; they have actually flourished. These countries are known for their socialist governments, and they have actually become role-model societies for other countries to follow (Ingebritsen). Why would an economic system work for these countries, but not the others? Why would that system work at all? Well, for starters, people need to work! Not only that but if all are working but only some are benefiting (which does happen in capitalistic societies), then eventually the inequality between the classes will become glaringly obvious and cause problems! Not only that but when only a few rich and powerful people control the markets, that can threaten the sanctity of democracy (Purdy). Socialism fixes all of these problems by eliminating the one man who controls everything and giving the power back to those who