Socialism is a political philosophy with a singular approach to structuring the economy. In the U.S, little is actually known about it, because it has been reduced to something negative and undesirable. Some have called Obama a socialist. Should one laugh or weep at this characterization? The powers that be in the U.S. disseminate propaganda that distort socialism thus preventing citizens from knowing about a possible alternative to Robin Hood in reverse capitalism. One of socialism's most famous advocates was Albert Einstein who said, "I am convinced there is only one way to eliminate the grave evils (of capitalism), namely through the establishment of a socialist economy."

Alan Maass is the editor of Socialistworker.org, a daily website of news and opinion, and the Socialist Worker newspaper. He is the author of The Case for Socialism.