Reply #23: Two books I've read recently -- Parker's Galbraith bio and Stiglitz's second

[1932]

last book -- explain the political-economic debates over socialism vs capitalism vs communism and, unless I'm way off base, as I remember them, they both point out that communists believe that the government should centrally control the economy (and they explain how poorly that has worked, due to the fact that the decision makers in communist countries are too far removed from the marketplace to make efficient choices). They both describe socialism as being more concerned with regulating the marketplace to ensure that inequalities and exploitation can't take place. They describe capitalism as being most concerned with maximizing profits regardless of how much inequality it causes (and how much that inequality determines who has power over whom).

I'll say it again, state ownership of the means of production is the sin qua non of communism and not of socialism, especially from the mid 20th century on. Successful socialist countries today recognize that it's not the interest of the state to decide whether a factory makes shoes or soup in any given year.