[CJFusco]

Well, if you want to wax intellectual about the subject, true socialism/communism doesn't rely on the government's will toward people because the people are self-governing. If one discusses socialism, one must quantify what one means by socialism as either what existed in Russia during the 80-ish year span lasting from November 1917 till 1989 (ranging from benign aristocracy to ruthless, oppressive dictatorship - there is nothing self-governing about this), the ideal of socialism as envisioned by Lenin as a preliminary government meant to systematically prepare a country for communism, socialism as a synonym for communism as Marxist envisioned a society where the workers control the means of production, or socialism as the more Americanized concept of anarchy (I hate that word because of the negative connotations that come to mind) in which the people have no structured government and develop their own communities based around agriculture and industry as that community sees fit (transcendentialism also fits into this last category, but only periforial).

It seems to me that you are using the term 'socialism' to define any vague notion of the government offering free services to its populace; certainly you don't feel this way about the free education etceteras etceteras that you receive in America?