A person once asked, “What is socialism?” This post is to clear that up.
The words Socialism, Marxism, Communism, Statism, Fascism, and Totalitarianism have been thrown around a lot recently by various individuals. Let me clarify what all of these terms are: they all refer to the destruction of the individual and individual rights where the state (meaning government) controls everything from the economy to the courts to every aspect of everyday life. The American Heritage Dictionary defines the terms as thus:
Marxism: The political and economic philosophy of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in which the concept of class struggle plays a central role in understanding society’s allegedly inevitable development from bourgeois oppression under capitalism to a socialist and ultimately classless society.
Socialism: Any of various theories or systems of social organization in which the means of producing and distributing goods is owned collectively or by a centralized government that often plans and controls the economy. (Supposedly all people are equally under socialism when it comes to material wealth. However, socialism always results in ditatorial rule by an oligarchy where some are more equal than others.)
Communism: A system of government in which the state plans and controls the economy and a single, often authoritarian party holds power, claiming to make progress toward a higher social order in which all goods are equally shared by the people. (Under Communism the government is up front about controlling every aspect of the economy. People know where they stand in relation to the state.)
Statism: The practice or doctrine of giving a centralized government control over economic planning and policy.
Totalitarianism: Of, relating to, being, or imposing a form of government in which the political authority exercises absolute and centralized control over all aspects of life, the individual is subordinated to the state, and opposing political and cultural expression is suppressed
Fascism: : a political philosophy, movement, or regime (as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition. (Under Fasicsm, the people think they are free, but they aren’t. Businesses are controlled through strict government regulation, but they operate under the illusion of being part of a free market.)
In essence, there is no difference between these philosophies. They all have a common goal: a centralized government that controls everything: the economy, schools, health care, and the individual does not exist.