Economic system
An
economic system is a mechanism (
social institution) which deals with the
production,
distribution and
consumption of
goods and
services in a particular
society.
The economic system is composed of
people,
institutions and their
relationships to resources, such as the
convention of
property. It addresses the problems of
economics, like the allocation and scarcity of resources.
There are several basic and incomplete questions that must be answered in order to resolve the problems of economics satisfactorily. The scarcity problem, for example, requires answers to basic questions, such as:
what to produce,
how to produce it, and
who gets what is produced. An economic system is a way of answering these basic questions. Different economic systems answer them differently.
There is often a strong correlation between certain
ideologies,
political systems and certain economic systems (for example, consider the meanings of the term "
communism"). Many economic systems overlap each other in various areas (for example, the term "
mixed economy" can be argued to include elements from various systems). There are also various mutually exclusive hierarchical categorizations.
The most basic and general economic systems are:
*
Market economy (the basis for several "right-wing" systems, such as
capitalism).
*
Mixed economy (arguably the "centrist" economic system).
*
Planned economy (the basis for several "left-wing" systems, such as
socialism).
*
Traditional economy (a generic term for the oldest and traditional economic systems)
*
Participatory economics (a recent proposal for a new economic system)
An economic system can be considered a part of the
social system and hierarchically equal to the
law system,
political system,
cultural system, etc.
More detailed lists of economic systems are given below.
Typically, "
left-wing" economic systems involve a greater role for
society and/or the
government to determine what gets produced, how it gets produced, and who gets the produced
goods and
services, with the stated aim of ensuring
social justice and a more equitable distribution of
wealth (see
welfare state).Meanwhile, "
right-wing" economic systems give more power to certain private individuals (or
corporations) to make those decisions, rather than leaving them up to society as a whole, and often limit government involvement in the economy.
The primary concern of "left" economic systems is usually
egalitarianism, while the primary concern of "right" economic systems is usually
private property.
The following list divides the main economic systems into "left-wing" and "right-wing," and it attempts to structure the systems in a given section by alphabetical order and in a vertical hierarchy where possible.
"Left-wing" systems
*
Non-property System*
Communism**
Anarcho-communism*
Gift economy*
Socialism**
Libertarian socialism**
Market socialism**
State socialism"Right-wing" systems
*
Capitalism**
Anarcho-capitalism**
Laissez-faire capitalism**
Corporate capitalism*
Feudalism*National Economy Model see:
Haydar Bas"Centrist" systems
*
Mixed economy**
American School**
Dirigisme**
Japanese System**
Mercantilism**
Social market economy also known as
Soziale MarktwirtschaftAn
etymologist's approach to economic systems, this list attempts to sort all possible economic systems in alphabetical order, without any division or hierarchization. If a given economic system has several names, a note beside the economic system provides the most common alternate names.
*
American School*
Anarchism*
Anarcho-capitalism*
Anarcho-communism also known as 'libertarian communism
*Autarky
*Barter economy
*Buddhist Economy
*Capitalism
*Colonialism
*Command economy also known as planned economy
*Communism
*Coordinatorism
*Corporate capitalism
*Dirigisme
*Feudalism
*Gift economy
*Green economy
*Hydraulic despotism (see also hydraulic empire)
*Inclusive Democracy
*Islamic economics and Islamic banking
*Japanese System
*Libertarian communism also known as anarcho-communism
*Libertarian socialism
*Market economy
*Market socialism
*Mercantilism
*Mixed economy
*Mutualism
*Natural economy
*Neo-colonialism
*Parecon also known as participatory economy
*Participatory economy also known as parecon
*Planned economy also known as command economy''
*
Resource based economy*
Self-management (as in
Economy of Yugoslavia)
*
Social market economy *
Socialism*
Socialist market economy*
Subsistence economy *
Traditional economy*
Virtual economy*
History of economic thought*
Political economy
