This 8-page reading includes an explanation and brief history of capitalism and communism, written for a high school equivalency level classroom.

Here’s the introduction:

Jose Rivera works full time at Walmart and makes $10 an hour for a full-time wage of $400 per week.

Sarah Kazantis makes $60 an hour as a program manager.

Dr. Novara makes $175,000 a year as a primary care physician.

Mr. Foster is the Chief Executive Officer of a large corporation and makes $13.8 million per year.

Alice Walton, the heir to the Walmart Corporation, has a net worth of $33.9 billion, and does not work at all.

Capitalism is an economic system in most industries and businesses in a country are privately owned.  Capitalists are people who use their own money, or other’s people’s money, to start or invest in businesses.  They can make money without working at all.

You’re probably not surprised to hear that some people in a society are extremely wealthy, while others are very poor.  Does it have to be this way?  That’s a good question.  In order to answer it, it’s helpful to learn a little more about how capitalism developed, and the theory about how it works.  Then, it helps to look at two other economic systems:  communism and socialism.