There is a graphical meme making its way around the Left-wing Blogosphere right now which lists a variety of government services and functions, and claims that they are examples of "socialism" (so why are people opposed to socialism?).
Examples include police, sanitation, fire stations, roads and bridges, libraries, public schools, hospitals, welfare benefits, etc.
The obvious problem here is that these are examples of state, local and municipal services paid for voluntarily by taxpayers. They are NOT equivalent to "socialism", which is a governing political and economic system involving the seizure of private property, confiscatory taxation and control of the means of production of goods and services... the demonstrated results of which are shortages, hunger, poverty and repression.
