In reply to Ronald Woods’ Letter to the Editor ... Have you ever looked socialism up in the dictionary?

Socialism: 1. Any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods. 2. A: A system of society or group living in which there is no private property. B: A system or condition of society in which the means of production are owned and controlled by the state. 3. A stage of society in Marxist theory transitional between capitalism and communism and distinguished by unequal distribution of goods and pay according to the work done.

Communism: 1. A: A theory advocating elimination of private property. B: A system in which goods are owned in common and are available to all as needed. 2. A: A doctrine based on revolutionary Marxian socialism and Marism-Leninism that is the official ideology of the USSR. B: A totalitarian system of government in which a single authoritarian party controls state-owned means of production with the professed aim of establishing a stateless society. C: A final stage of society in Marxist theory in which the state has withered away and economic goods are distributed equitably.