In his May 29 letter, Tom Troyer gave his own definition of “socialism” and said that I was in error about the facts.

Actually, it is Troyer who is in error.

Per the Lexicon Webster Dictionary definition of socialism: “A theory or method of social organization and government whereby the citizenry jointly owns the means of production and distribution, and the power of administrative control is vested in the state.”

In Nazi Germany the means of production were privately owned. Therefore, by definition, Nazi Germany had a capitalist economy.

Troyer, of course, has the right to make up his own definitions of words. But by his definition, every society in recorded history could be called socialist.

Every society in history has tried to use government power to organize its economy.

The debate about capitalism vs. socialism is interesting, but really irrelevant. As I’ve said before, all modern economies combine private and government ownership of productive capacity.

It is hard to imagine how either a completely socialist or a completely capitalist society could function for any length of time.

Dallas Dunlap

Brooksville, Florida