Socialism, like communism, was a reaction to the vast inequalities of wealth suffered by capitalist Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries. The aim of socialism was a classless society with no difference in the wealth of people. There have been many governments in Europe and the Third World with socialist goals which they were not able to fully attain. Some aspects of the socialist system have been, to varying degrees, adopted in Europe and the United States. A modified form of capitalism with the government regulating production and distribution, but not controlling it, and providing a safety net to redistribute wealth to those unable to provide for themselves, such as the poor, the handicapped and the elderly, has proven to be the most efficient economic system.
Capitalism is based on the exploitation of man by man.
Under Soviet socialism it is the opposite. A new prisoner arrives at a prison camp and is asked what his sentence is. I didn't do anything. If your children or students know anything about the former Soviet Union, ask them to pick out which characters in the film represent Lenin, Stalin, Trotsky, and the Tsar. Ask them to tell you which sets of animals are the secret police and the communist party.