There has been much new attention on the term "Socialism" since Senator Bernie Sanders has been running for the 2016 Democratic Nominee for President. Many on the left and right are worried about this word and its connotations or meaning. What is interesting to me is how many people, when asked, did not know what socialism is. They simply "knew" it was bad, and could refer you to China or the old Soviet Union, or perhaps they may be able to point out some dictators they have heard of.

So, what is Socialism?

a political and economic theory of social organization that advocates that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community as a whole.

Straight from the dictionary.

The community would govern itself. What does that mean? Essentially, it means that everyone works together and helps each other out. Everyone shares the responsibility and the wealth.

So, what is capitalism?

an economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit.

So in Capitalism, we let everything be controlled by private individuals. Obviously these are the individuals with the most money. And those individuals are getting fewer as the years go by.

So on one hand you have a shared community that helps each other out, and in the other you have a few guys that own everything, while everyone else works for them. which one sounds like it works better for the majority?