Socialism, in my mind, is nothing more than a contrivance in which those who can't/don't produce try to control those who do. Socialist say their system is for the good of the people, but they know (or just don't care to know) that such thinking is pure BS.
Yep! You are correct. I also believe that the differences between socialism and capitalism rest PRECISELY on the understanding of freedom....as a right that comes from God. Private property is an essential key that is based upon that understanding.
“...socialism, by no means an invention of nineteenth century Marxism but much older, must be conceptualized as an institutionalized interference with or aggression against private property and private property claims.
Capitalism, on the other hand, is a social system based on the explicit recognition of private property and of nonaggressive, contractual exchanges between private property owners.” -— Hanns Herman Hoppe, A THEORY OF SOCIALISM & CAPITALISM
http://mises.org/books/Socialismcapitalism.pdf
As a Christian, I also recognize my duty to seek the will of my God as to how I use what I have been blessed with. Our Founding Fathers were very clear in their understanding of the fact that the prosperity of this nation depended upon the PRACTICE of religion.
;-)))