[image source: https://myvoice.opindia.com/2021/02/why-is-communism-popular-among-the-youth/]
Question: Is socialism the same thing as communism? What are the difference? [source: @annieburg]
Response: This is a really good question because socialism and communism are used as interchangeably as clementine and oranges, especially by people who do not really comprehend either of them. There are some similarities between the two, the biggest is that they are both reactions to exploitation of the working class. They are also opposed to capitalism and include having a central government and believe that resources should be produced by the government and not by privately owned businesses. However, they are different ideologies and that difference is very important. Within communism, people are compensated based on their need and the government provides all the resources they could need. In a socialist society, innovation is valued and effort is rewarded, as resources are distributed based off of what people have contributed to society. With socialism, it is assumed that people want to cooperate and work together, that it is the competitive nature of a capitalistic market that prevents people from acting on their natural goodwill. Socialism involves a democratically elected government and it is that government that holds the resources and distributes it based on contribution. However, countries that identify as communist or socialist usually don't align exactly or strictly with the cited guidelines of either. The issue is that, generally, any system that opposes capitalism is assigned either communism or socialism with negative connotation. It's usually misinformation and ignorance that leads to mislabeling but I think that knowing the differences between the two systems is very important for understanding what it means, especially for the countries who align with either one. Overall, there is a difference between socialism and capitalism and the biggest difference is that communism gives to those who need and socialism gives to those who contribute.