What role does economic system play in society?

Answer 1

Karl Marx saw the history of mankind through the narrow focus of economics. His views, however, were not the scientific answers as to why political systems change. He discarded many elements of how political systems change, such as the roles of nationalism and religious activity have an immense impact on history. With that said, political scientists have constructed models regarding the impact of economics and changes in political systems. These are models, however, and no one has provided a science to predict the way political systems change. What political scientists have done is display how in certain economic situations, political systems change or they become refined in their operation.

Allot of changes in political systems are dependent upon governmental policies as they relate to economics. Here are some examples to ponder. It can be noted that terms such as "often" "tendencies" and "likely" are used as a demonstration that there is no science to actions and reactions.

It has been seen that governments at times, will use coercion to "help" their economic systems. Regulations are often tightened whenever a surplus begins to disappear. A surplus diminishes if the quantity of goods and services declines, as in a depression for example. If due to this, the requirements for subsistence increase as a result of changes in attitudes and ideas current in a society, and both may happen, it can provide fuel for changes.

This helps to explain why many revolutions and other major disturbances have followed times of prosperity. During long term periods of prosperity in which standards of living are rising, new and higher levels of this are expected. Here is an example of this in a working class situation.

The more workers receive steady and greater levels of wages for their labors, the tendency is often deemed to be a permanent course of action. The perhaps grinding poverty of the past is no longer the norm, nor is it acceptable.

Thus when an economic decline encounters a rising curve of expectations, either a revolution or a greater form of government coercion is put in place. Either way, the political system has a tendency to change. This for example, is something that may be likely in a country such as China. The Party is well aware of this, they are astute students of political science theory. The political theorist will see if a level of rising expectations based on a definitive upward change in GDP will bring about changes that the ordinary worker there is not concerned with at this time.

With the above situation in hand, it can also be said that economic abundance also facilitates peaceful adjustments in any political system and creates conditions favorable for the stability of popular governments. The economic boom in the USA following the Civil War was evident in the North. Everyone was "happy" until the Panic of 1853. ( The South was not part of the equation )