Writers who either don't know or don't understand their true meaning frequently use economic terms incorrectly in letters and comments. The simplest way to clear this up is to visualize a scale of economic principles.
At the right end is free market Capitalism, where the means of wealth creation and the distribution of limited resources are owned and controlled by private citizens and the function of government is to protect citizens from force, fraud and other infractions upon their rights. At the left end is Socialism, where the means of wealth creation and the distribution of limited resources are owned and controlled by government. Between the ends are varying degrees of Fascism, where the means of wealth creation and the distribution of limited resources are owned by private citizens and controlled by government. The decision we all face is whether we want to move the Fascism indicator closer to the right or the left.
Phil Underwood
Montoursville
Submitted by Virtual Newsroom
