Letter: Guard against fascism

Let’s clarify our definitions:

Democracy: government by the entire population through elected representatives.

Fascism: a far-right nationalistic, authoritarian political system.

Anarchy: The absence of government (Libertarianism equals minimal government).

Socialism and capitalism are economic theories. In socialism, the economy is regulated by the community as a whole; in capitalism, it is controlled by private corporations.

Misconceptions:

1. “Socialism and communism are the same thing.” They are not. And China, Russia, and Cuba, are, in effect, dictatorships.

2. “It’s socialism if the government pays for it.” If that’s true, then the military and all business subsidies are socialistic.

3. “Democracy and capitalism go hand-in-hand.” If you’ve ever been to China, you were probably surprised at how capitalistic it is. A country may engage in capitalism without democracy.

Most successful countries employ a combination of systems. If we had pure capitalism, we would never bail out a corporation; we would let them fail with the free market. Schools, fire departments and roads would all be fee-based, privatized entities. And our military would be comprised of mercenaries.

Capitalism works best when we utilize checks and balances. And some services are best delivered by the government for the benefit of all society.

Fascism is the system we need to guard against.