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

[Mamin]

Please can you explain in A-level terms. Also what is fascism?
can you give example of countries which are most like communism, socialism, and capitalism?

[tguk143]

Socialism: Means of production are commonly owned, industry is democratically run by workers. "From each according to his ability, to each according to his contribution."

Communism: A stateless, classes society, that puts high value in equality. ( This is however a political system not an economic one.).

Capitalism: Means of production are privately owned and operated for profit through investment. Characteristics include class hierarchy, wage labor and competition. A state is also favored to protect private property and wealth, also to enforce anti-competitive laws(Monopolies) and enforce private contracts via a court system.

There are no contemporary examples of communism, what remains are nations which are state socialist( such as Cuba). And there are not many pure examples of socialism either, you have the same state socialist system in countries like Venezuela. The United states obviously is capitalist, along with most of western Europe.

Fascism is a political system in which there is extreme nationalistic sentiment and a consolidation of power. Usually, states run by one party and have strict identity standards. It favors a "cult of personality" under a strong leadership that directs a totalitarian state. Capitalism is allowed as long as it favors goals set by the national agenda. Corporations are essentially at the employment or joined with the state.

Anti- Democratic, Anti- Anarchist, Anti-intellectual, Anti-communist, Anti-socialist,

[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.

[GeniusScot]

Communism is the believe that all business, should be ran by the state under a dictatorship of the proletariat. It comes from the ideas of Marx & Engels. Eventually, the dictatorship is meant to dissolve and people are meant to live in a classless society based on co-operation. However, most dictators aren't too keen to give up their positions of power. Examples are Cuba, North Korea & The Former Soviet Union.

Socialism is a vast political ideology. It's pretty hard to give a definition as it covers so many systems - Anarcho-Syndacilism, Anarcho-Communism, Marxism, Social Democracies, Maoism, etc.
The most common form of socialism in Europe would be a social democracy which retains democracy and the capitalist mode of production but some things like Healthcare & Education are ran by the government because socialists believe that these things are not to be trusted with the private sector as they only want to make a profit. Social Democracies tend to put an emphasis on worker's rights and equality. Examples are Sweden, The Labour Party in the UK pre-1999 and organisations like the NHS.

Capitalism is the believe that the government should run nothing and it should be trusted with the private sector. This can lead to inequality& poverty. Examples would be the Republican Party, Tea Party, etc.