I ain't even read all these responses yet and I probably ain't gonna have time to today. I just want all the i-dren to please distinguish between the REAL IDEA of socialism which is as l.m. quoted "from each according to their ability, to each according to their needs", and the PERVERSIONS of this idea that have been used to downpress people in "socialist" countries just as much as in "capitalist" ones. I know that in Guyana for example "socialism" was used more as a nice-sounding word to make poor people believe the gov't's really on their side, much as "democracy" is used in the states. And I know neither Mengistu nor Kim Il Sung nor even Fidel (though he comes a lot closer) is a real socialist.
Socialism can't be forced on people, people must choose to live that way- the way of co-operation, sharing and equality- because they recognize its benefits, and because its the most sensible and natural way to live. Yeah I said "natural" because for most of human history (before it got written down) we had no choice but to live that way, or close to it. Without adavanced technology, it was co-operate or die.
Check out the history of the so-called 'Anarchists' during the Spanish Civil War, to me they came much closer to putting real socialism into practice than any government that has called itself 'socialist' or 'communist'.
Peace out.