Communism? Capitalism? Who can keep them straight? Is there really even any difference between them at all? They both start with a C; they both end in "ism." They can't be total opposites, can they?
If only there were some place in the world where people were living in a communist system and in a capitalist system side-by-side. Like a city divided down the middle with communists on one side of a wall and capitalists on the other. Then everyone could see the differences clearly.
Wait—that's what Berlin was during the Cold War? How about that. And JFK's "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech addresses this, bigtime.
Questions About Contrasting Regions
- If you were assigned to make a diorama of Berlin in the 1960s, what would you put on the Western side of the wall to symbolize capitalism? What would you put on the Eastern side to symbolize communism? Why?
- Were there any other regions of the world that could have served to illustrate the differences between capitalism and communism? Where?
- Should Kennedy have done more in his speech to describe the stark differences on each side of the wall? Why or why not?
Chew on This
JFK's speech could, frankly, have taken a harsher stance against communism.
JFK was foolhardy to have gone off-script. He should have been more diplomatic and attempted to pacify the communists.