A human being who believes that the most harmonious state of affairs would be for all to get a fair shot at financial sucess. This belief is not motivated by his own selfishness as a capitalist would have you think, but is in actuality an honorable difference of opinion. In the 1930's farmers in the mid west were plowing their corn under because it was unprofitable, and at the same time millions across America were starving. Capitalists see this as logical, while socialists find it abhorrent. In short, socialism is about production for use, not profit.

A person who believes in an equal and communally beneficial system of government. Someone who supports such ideas as:
*Public Health-care
*Regulated economic market (no monopolies- therefore more selection for the public)
*A smaller rich/poor divide.
*a generally higher tax rate in exchange for high quality public services and transport etc.

on the politcal compass- they can be found in the bottom left quadrant.

Capitalist= Right Wing
Socialist= Left Wing

commonly mis-associated with a communist

A word Republicans often use as a scare tactic against their rivals, the Democrats. The Democrats ignore the term and don't defend themselves. They afraid to explain that Socialism is OK in small amounts, because then they will be called communist.

Anyone who disagrees with a Republican.

1. (Noun) A person who embrace some or all of the ideas of Marx.
Common political agendas include:
Redistribution of wealth (from rich to poor), social security, free education & healthcare, strengthening of labour unions.
Socialists usually have less orthodox oppinions than communists, though a person can be both. A socialist will usually distance himself from communist dictators like Stalin, and instead claim loyalty to the original ideas of Marx and Lenin.
Unlike a communist, a socialist need not to be an atheist.

2. (Verb) Attributed to a country said to have a socialist system. This is often confused with communism, which according to Marx is a system where true equality exist, and the state have been made unneccesary. Most socialist agree that no country have had a truely communist regime.

A person who believes that the community as a whole should own businesses, rather than individuals.

One who adheres to the principles of socialism. Based off the acceptance of one or all of Karl Marx's ideals as displayed in "The Communist Manifesto". The point being equal distribution of wealth so as to alleviate poverty.
The right wing tends to insult those who call themselves socialist by saying that, "they're lazy" and "they want our hard earned money to sit on their ass and not be productive." These claims are completely unfounded as most socialist states have below 1% unemployment as opposed to capitalistic nations, EX: the U.S. Standing at 9% unemployment.
Socialists differ from the idea of a communist in that one does not need to be atheist. The system and deliberation of labor are also different as within a socialist society, one is free to choose their occupation which leads to people doing what they're good at as opposed to a dead end job leading to more productivity and happiness.
Some of the most effective countries on the planet have been socialist in certain points in history including, Vietnam, Cuba, and France.