In Reply to: I read it posted by Miguel on July 02, 2004 at 15:23:14:
Socialism has more to do with economics. Paired with Democracy, it is a very free system with government control of certain things like costs of pharmaceuticals, in some countries, sales of alcohol, universal medical care, set amounts of monthly assistance to parents for children, safety net for those disabled or displaced. The politics are ranging from dictatorships to democracies. Hitler's socialist party was under a dictatorship (Hitler). Olaf Palme was a Social democrat, meaning he was democratically elected by the people and subject to periodic re-election according to the vote of the people.
Clearly there is a vast gulf between Hitler and Palme. The importance is the combination.