Socialism, Capitalism or Socio-Capitalism?

As my two cents on capitalism and socialism experiments will leave the vast ocean of literature on the two subjects undisturbed, I do not feel guilty of dabbling on the issues in the form of a short discourse.
The Cold War, as many would say, was a struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union to extend each other’s sphere of influence on the rest of the world. Others would say that it was also a struggle to prove whether capitalism or socialism was the sustainable socioeconomic path to choose. Although we currently stand at a juncture in the history of mankind when Cold War has been long over, we surprisingly find the existence of both forms of isms which seem to work in varying degrees.
Marx and Engel’s Das Capital is definitely a milestone in the path to development of economics as a science to solving mankind’s dilemma of making choices in the midst of scarce resources. The authors’ dream nevertheless has remained nothing more than a treatise and will probably be treated so by the future generations.
On another note, Friedman’s much hailed capitalism has also developed fissures long after we had thought we learned everything about running an economy after the great depression. But it is not about forgetting history and repeating it. The financial market system of today is nothing like they were back in the 30s. Today, the countries across the globe are so tightly interconnected that any minor disruption in one country can easily send a ripple across the financial world.
China on the other hand has shown to the rest of the world that its brand of controlled capitalism mixed with elements of socialism does indeed work, proven by its unprecedented economic growth in the last decade.
While capitalism is being rescued from near collapse by President Obama’s financial reforms in unison with the major countries in the West, we must not completely alienate other forms of economic systems that have proven successful elsewhere. Perhaps, going forward what we need is an open mind and willingness to experiment with different ideas.
-Arif

Iran's Election

The result of the disputed election in Iran is a shame. When early in 1979, the American backed Shah wanted to forcefully introduce western elements in Iran, his miscalculated steps backfired. The ensuing revolution took Iran on a completely different path, straining its relationship with the US. We all remember the details of the incidents surrounding those years in Iran. In the course of those events, what emerged was an Iran ruled by Islamic hardliners. Surprisingly, today the pendulum has swung to the other side. Despite warnings from the government in power, the young generation of today's Iran are back on the streets again. This time they do not want a sweeping overthrow of their government. Neither are they openly demonstrating against the Islam Republic, the shadow government that runs the show in Iran. They are demonstrating in demand of a fair election, and nullify the result of the obviously rigged election they just had. Unlike in 1979, when the protesters wanted to chase out the puppet government of the west, this time, they are embracing the attention the West is giving them. And the availability of elements of technology, like cell phones with camera, is helping to capture images that are instantly seen around the world. The supreme leader, Khamenei, in trying to back Ahmadinejad may draw the wrath of the people to such a degree that it may shake the very foundations of the Republic. Another thing could happen is the demonstrators giving up, resulting in another tenure of Ahmadinejad. Which ever way the wind blows, it is the perfect time for Iran to ratchet down its international tone, and join countries like Egypt in stabilizing the Middle East. Iran's hostility towards Israel and its open pursuit of a nuclear dream is isolating it in the region.