Like capitalism, socialism is another commonly used word in politics. But this word has been misused to such a great extend that it is seen as synonymous with communism.
Socialism is the economic system where the means of production and resources are publicly owned. Citizen may work to produce the goods and services but the final profit goes to the owner which in this case is the government.
Therefore socialism is the economic system where the industry and corporations are owned by the government. A socialist is a believer in public (government) ownership.
But socialism is not communism. Communism is a political system and economic system whereas socialism is just an economic system. This means that socialism may be the preferred economic system for communism but socialism does not make any political implications and can therefore be the economic system of a democratic nation.
