Defining Capitalism, Communism, Fascism, Socialism

Caveat: There are some inherent pitfalls trying to offer simple, bite sized definitions of capitalism, socialism, communism

and fascism the first being that these are complex concepts concerning both economics and government, so short

definitions will be incomplete; the second being that these concepts are not always mutually exclusive (most modern

states combine elements of more than one); the third being that historical states defined the terms differently; and finally,

some of the terms refer strictly to economic systems (capitalism) while others (fascism) also refer to government and

economic systems (communism and fascism).

Capitalism

In common usage, the word capitalism means an economic system in which all or most of the means of

production are privately owned and operated, and the investment of capital and

the production, distribution and prices of commodities (goods and services) are determined mainly in a free market,

rather than by the state. In capitalism, the means of production are generally operated for profit.

Fascism

The word descends from the Latin fasces, the bundle of sticks used by the Romans to symbolize their empire. This

should clue you in that Fascism attempts to recapture both the glory and social organization of Rome.

Most generally, a governmental system led by a dictator having complete power, forcibly suppressing opposition and

criticism, regimenting all industry, commerce, etc., and emphasizing an aggressive nationalism and often racism.

Unlike communism, fascism is opposed to state ownership of capital and economic equality is not a principle or goal.

During the 1930s and WWII, communism and fascism represented the extreme left and right, respectively, in European

politics. Hitler justified both Nazi anti-Semitism and dictatorship largely on the basis of his working to fight-off

communism.

After Socialism, Fascism combats the whole complex system of democratic ideology, and repudiates it, whether in its

theoretical premises or in its practical application. Fascism denies that the majority, by the simple fact that it is a majority,

can direct human society; it denies that numbers alone can govern by means of a periodical consultation, and it affirms

the immutable, beneficial, and fruitful inequality of mankind, which can never be permanently leveled through the

mere operation of a mechanical process such as universal suffrage....

Socialism

Most generally, socialism refers to state ownership of common property, or state ownership of the means of

production. A purely socialist state would be one in which the state owns and operates the means of production.

Communism

Most generally, communism refers to community ownership of property, with the end goal being complete social

equality via economic equality. Communism is generally seen by communist countries as an idealized utopian

economic and social state that the country as a whole is working toward; that is to say that pure communism is the ideal

that the Peoples Republic of China is working toward. Such an ideal often justifies means that are not themselves

communist ideals.

A Note On Morality: Capitalism and socialism are essentially a-moral* terms: they simply refer to economic systems

who owns what and how capital is exchanged regardless of any other type of moral principle or goal. Communism and

fascism, on the other hand, refer to both economics, governance, and basic moral principles: that is to say they refer to

overarching ideas about how people should live (rather than describing how people do business), so they imply a total

ideology: a morality, an economy, a government.

http://www.class.uidaho.edu/engl_258/Lecture%20Notes/capitalism%20etc%20defined.htm accessed on 3/23/11 & adapted