These terms are used often, and I've seen people give them many different meanings. For example, Democracy is used a lot to describe the governments of the western countries. But isn't the Idea of a democracy that everyone votes on the important decisions, not that you elect one person to make the decisions? Is that a republic?
Communism and socialism are also confusing. Does communism require a 1 party "dictatorship"? Or is it simply the equal distribution of wealth? Does it need a strong centralized government, or cannot be a conglomerate of kibbutzes"?
I'm trying to get a clearer picture of what the meanings of these words are. For that matter, is the meaning of a word what it was intended to mean, or what it is most commonly used to describe?
Communism and socialism are also confusing. Does communism require a 1 party "dictatorship"? Or is it simply the equal distribution of wealth? Does it need a strong centralized government, or cannot be a conglomerate of kibbutzes"?
I'm trying to get a clearer picture of what the meanings of these words are. For that matter, is the meaning of a word what it was intended to mean, or what it is most commonly used to describe?