Wikiuser is wrong. Socialism is defined in the dictionary as... "a political and economic theory of social organization, which advocates that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community as a whole."
Note that it says “community” not "government" and not “federal" or “national" or “central”. “Community" can mean the community of workers in a workplace, or the neighborhood in which people live, or the town or city….. whatever…. all the way up and down the scale. It does not require the existence of a government, let alone the government ownership of anything. In addition, it says "owned OR regulated."
"Democratic socialism" (like Bernie Sanders advocates) is not national ownership of everything. Only some things are nationally owned, and even those are administered locally. In "democratic socialism "each workplace is owned and operated by the workers who actually work in it... not by the federal government.
When any government is run by a totalitarian dictator it is by definition a “Dictatorship” and also by definition is the opposite of socialism! Neither Stalin nor Hitler was a socialist, nor were the governments under them. They were dictators and in the case of Hitler, the government was fascist (government merged with and run for the benefit of corporations).
Just because something is called “socialism" or “democracy" or whatever… that does not mean it is actually true. Just like our founders called what we have a "democracy" when, from the very beginning... it completely excluded all females, all native peoples, all people of color, all people who did not own any property, and basically included only wealthy property-owning while adult males, while actually condoning and enfranchising slavery! That is not “democracy" in any sense of the word. So in the same vein, the USSR under Stalin was not really a union of socialist republics, despite its name.
This is a very important issue, because the wealthy corporate interests in the US have been trying to make the American public believe their false claims that "socialism" is synonymous with, or always leads to dictatorships... in order to accomplish their goal of achieving a government that serves primarily the corporations and their wealthy major stockholders. That is what has been happening here for decades. It is time to dispel their misinformation strategy!
Communist
Dictatorial state capitalism.
The government owns the factors of production. Since Cuba has a dictatorship and Raul Castro is now in charge, it can be said that he owns the factors of production.
Totalitarian government and socialist economic system
Every government has three basic kinds of power, (1) legislative power, (2) executive power and (3) judicial power. The ultimate responsibility for the exercise of these powers may be held by a single person or group of people, as in dictatorship.
When the government controls the land and all the other means of production it is known as Communism. Communism is the system of in which all social and economical activities are controlled by a totalitarian state that is dominated by a single, self-perpetrating political party.
Karl Marx coined the term "dictatorship of the proletariat" Ironically, it was not to be a dictatorship at all, but a democratic government. Marx called it the "dictatorship of the proletariat," but it would be a democratic government once the proletariat of workers revolted against the bourgeoisie and took over the means of production. Some form of government would still be necessary after the revolution. The "dictatorship" aspect meant that participation in it would be restricted to proletarians to the exclusion of the bourgeoisie. The main purposes would be to maintain order, but more importantly it would be to ensure the transition from capitalism to socialism by stamping out all vestiges of capitalism so that it would never return.
A totalitarian regime is a form of government where a single party or leader has complete control over all aspects of society, including politics, economy, and culture. In contrast, a communist government is based on the principles of socialism, where the means of production are owned and controlled by the state, and there is a focus on achieving economic equality among citizens. Totalitarian regimes often use force and repression to maintain power, while communist governments aim to create a classless society through collective ownership and distribution of resources.
Because in a command economy the government is in charge of most if not all of the factors of production.
After the Russian Revolution, the country became increasingly centralized and authoritarian as Lenin and the Bolshevik Party subordinated the Soviets (the workers councils, or the true manifestation of worker's control over the means of production) under the power of a bureaucratic elite. After Lenin's death, Joseph Stalin went even further into turning the Soviet Union into a totalitarian nightmare.
The system of government that rests furthest left on the political spectrum is communism. In a totalitarian regime, communism advocates for the government to own all aspects of the economy, including property and the means of production, effectively eliminating private ownership. This system seeks to establish a classless society, where resources and wealth are distributed according to need rather than market forces.
In a totalitarian state all economic activity is controlled by the state. It is usually led by a dictator, all production of foods and goods are controlled by the state, the government controls all media so there is no freedom of press, and a person is absolutely not allowed to speak out about the government.