Socialism is nothing compared to communism. The main difference between the two, is communism needs somewhat of a dictator to run the affair. Socialism is simply a principle of commune, of community - big difference. A church community is a socialist one, but doesn't make it communist.

Early US states used the term 'commonwealth' to describe the government, which was a better term than 'democratic republic'. We can thank our red scares and fear of communist dictators for tarnishing these words. And now we certainly do have a democratic republic, as 'we the people' hold little power, but in numbers, compared to our ruling elite (granted they are voted in office).

If we looked at one of the greatest reasons communists dislike democracy: Democracy advocates freedom, but ironically enslaves liberty as power grows. Historical democracies have usually ended with dictators abusing power.

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"We've been blowin up, we're the issue, we're ammunition" Switchfoot