Despite what it says the definition is not the full one.

Limiting it to government ownership overlooks the compulsive nature of tax collections for supporting retirement and medical coverage for the generations ahead of you.

The 'government' does collect the taxes and they do redistribute the money. That is socialism no less than government control of industry.

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the editor: The popular definition of “socialism” reflects a worldview in which government takes control of everything, leading to an inevitable failure, as we have seen in the former Soviet Union and some other countries. ("Bernie Sanders has some explaining to do," Op-Ed, Oct. 21)

The fact that many “socialistic” countries are doing well, as we can see in many parts of Europe, and with Canada, does not seem to faze Americans.

What is most stunning is that Americans cannot see that the United States is to a certain degree a socialist country, as Social Security, Medicare, public libraries, the Army, fire and police departments, the freeways and other public programs clearly exemplify.

Those who don't like socialism should stop cashing their Social Security checks and burn their Medicare cards.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, a presidential candidate, is right. The term “socialism” needs to be clarified. Ultimately, Americans need to figure out that government is not the problem, but in a lot of cases it is the solution staring at us.

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http://www.conservapedia.com/Income_redistribution

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Examples of government programs performing compulsory income redistribution include welfare and progressive taxation.

Socialists believe that increased redistribution and consequent reductions in inequality lead to better outcomes for individual welfare and freedom.

Likewise, Professor Richard Layard has argued that "in societies where income differences between rich and poor are smaller, the statistics show not only that community life is stronger and people are much more likely to trust each other; but also there is less violence – including substantially lower homicide rates – health is better and life expectancy several years longer, prison populations are smaller; birth rates among teenagers are lower, levels of educational attainment among school children tend to be higher; and there is more social mobility. In all cases, where income differences are narrower, outcomes are better."

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