Exactly what is "socialism"?

For two years now, we've all been hearing that if Obama gets elected, the forces of socialism would take over our country. Honestly, it sounds scary (like an alien invasion or attack of the body snatchers)... but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that no one ever seemed to explain it or even understand it, so I decided to resist joining the masses in fearing something I didn't understand, and research the topic. Here's some of what I uncovered...

If we were starting a new country, history shows us variations of a few ideologies that orient how a country's economy and government works. To best answer what socialism is, it helps to unpack the extreme opposites of capitalism and communism - which revels socialism's place.

A. Capitalism was founded on concepts from the manuscript "Wealth of Nations." It features: individualism, free markets, profit motive, and private property-in a environment of civil liberties. In it's purist form, it rejects all government regulation and intervention and relies completely on supply and demand forces of a free market. It suggests that wealth is the primary sign of success, whereas the rich deserve to be rich, and the poor deserve to be poor. America and the western world offers examples of how it may be the best structure to offer maximum opportunity and sustainability, but because it favors the rich, its weaknesses are greed and corruption at the top and cyclical poverty at the bottom.

B. Communism started with the observations and questions raised by Marx who wanted to right the wrongs of monarchy and capitalism and achieve Utopia. He articulated the ideals of the common good, social responsibility, economic collectivism, and group ownership. In the 1700's, Lenin applied this ideology by forming Communist Russia where the state controlled all industry, wealth, and land ownership to ensure equal housing, wages, benefits. The former USSR, Cuba, and China offer examples of how communist dictatorships demand citizen compliance, control the press, and realize mixed economic results but limited freedom.

So, as I'm understanding it, capitalism and communism could be considered opposites - both in terms of economic drivers and individual freedoms. So, I'm convinced that some of Communism's ideals are not all bad (common good) but capitalism is superior if you actually want the economy to work and citizens to be free. So, it appears there is a reasonable argument that capitalism requires modifications to achieve the "common good" - and this is why various government interventions are added. It's not a replacement model like Communism, rather an attempt to create a hybrid mix of the best of capitalism and the best of communism's ideals. Looking for an example? Look no further then America! Yes, the US model is NOT pure capitalism. To try to correct the shortfalls of capitalism, we've added Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, the VA, unemployment benefits, and other social services. Now, we can debate if the government has already gone too far, and that Obama would take us further... but my friends (thank you Mr. McCain), we are already a part capitalistic and part socialistic nation.