Socialism is a social and political ideology differing somewhat from
Communism.
Communism would be a subset of Socialism. Socialism accepts that there be a central government, unlike
Communism. In fact, Socialist States tend to have exceptionally large central governments due to the fact that all means of production are owned by that government. All individuals are still equal, like with
Communism. As socialism is a bit softer than
Communism and it is easier to transition from a republic or democracy to socialism.
EditSpeech Relevance
Reagan speaks much more of socialism than
Communism in both '
A Time For Choosing' and '
Encroaching Control'. Socialists were around and tolerated (ex.
Norman Thomas ran six times for President for the Socialist Party of America), unlike their
communist counterparts.
Through these speeches, Reagan presents evidence to the people that we are being slowly led away from a republican form of government (which was given to us by the Founders) to a socialist one. Government-run medical care. Government-run education. Government-controlled agriculture. Social Security.
EditSource Links
Socialism (Wikipedia)The Difference between Communism and SocialismCommunism vs SocialismEditSome Available Texts
Additional information about Socialism is available in e-books which this Wiki's Administrator has restored and made available to purchase through Amazon.
Socialism e-books, from Poor Richard's Print Shop