Socialists regard capitalism as a threat to equality and public interest. In comparison, communism treats all goods and services as public property to be used and enjoyed by the entire populace.įinally, socialism and communism differ in their views on capitalism. While personal properties can be kept, socialists make sure, however, that no private property will be used as an instrument for oppression and exploitation. Individuals, for example, can keep their digital cameras but cannot retain a factory that produces digital cameras. There are two kinds of properties in socialism: (1) personal property that an individual can own and enjoy and (2) industrial property that is dedicated for the use of producing society’s goods. In contrast, communism believes that the wealth should be shared by the masses based on the needs of the individual. Socialism supports the view that the goods and services produced should be dispensed based on the productivity of an individual. The views of socialism and communism also differ in the distribution of wealth produced by the economy. It is thus characterized as conservative because the economy functions based on the decisions of a few. Communism, on the other hand, controls its economy through a single authoritarian party. This makes socialism a liberal system because majority of the people have a say on how the economy should be run. In socialism, the people themselves decide through communes or popularly elected councils on how the economy should work. They differ, however, in the management and control of the economy. Socialism and communism both adhere to the principle that the resources of the economy should be collectively owned by the public and controlled by a central organization. It is regarded as a more extreme form of socialism. Communism, on the other hand, is both an economic system that seeks equality among members of society and a political ideology that advocates a classless and stateless society and rejects religion. Socialism is commonly regarded as an economic system that seeks to achieve equality among members of society.