What is the difference between communism, socialism, and capitalism?

[Josh]

Communism is hardline governing system where every aspect of governing is strictly controlled by a centralized government. For example, a communist government has complete control over what is shown on TV, how many children people can have, who gets food, what kind of speech is allowed, what you can study in college, etc. There is usually not a constitution and any human rights can be freely suspended and revoked at any time. Most communist governments do not have free elections of governing figures. It is a system of complete government control, not just regulation.

Fascism is a type of dictatorship. Most types of facism are military or theological. A facist government will suppress any opposing parties or ideas with fear, violence, and ruthlessness. For example, in an Islasmic fascist nation, you'll be told that you must submit to Islam, pray regularly, and the like. If you're a woman, you may be ordered not to go to school, and if you commit adultery, you could get stoned to death.

Capitalism is an economic system that puts an emphasis on the profit motive. Capitalism supports the view that government regulation should be modest and business-friendly. Capitalism and what is called "free market" enterprise go hand-in-hand. Meaning, thinks like the business and consumer community should be the primary drivers of economic growth. Capitalists believe that maximizing economic growth will lead to greater prosperity and innovation. Since there is emphasis on the profit motive, that means that Capitalism is largely neutral as it relates to issues such as human rights, due process, and justice. You can have Capitalist countries that have strong human rights (such as the United States) or Capitalist countries that have weak human rights (such as Mexico).

Socialism is an economic system that puts an emphasis on what is reffered to as "economic equality". Socialists believe that the wealth should be spread around as evenly as possible in order to allievate social problems such as poverty and access to health care. The primary method of socialism to accomplish this is to take financial resources from wealthier individuals in the form of higher taxation and the creation of a larger government with many social programs. Socialism demands strong market regulations and government control. Most socialist countries (such as Canada) have several media outlets run and controlled by the government. Human rights records in socialist countries are mixed. You will typically see greater access to health care and education, but you'll see weaker protections in place for freedom of speech, religion, the right to bear arms, among others.