"socialism" is exercising government authority to define an equilibrium price that is not equal to what studied producers and consumers in the free market choose

replacing the price discovery mechanism with government authority prevents a system from identifying its most effective producers (e.g. teachers), and its laziest consumers, thereby increasing the risk, and spreading the cost, of an unsustainable allocation

socialism may be measured

let,

m = equilibrium price of a good or service measured in an efficient free market
g = equilibrium price of the same good or service defined by government

socialism = m - g

1. when g > m, we say, "socialism is present"

2. when g < m, we say, "socialism is present here, too"

3. when g = m, we say, "government is benign"

excepting the need to overcome inordinate costs, goods and services such as water, fire prevention, medicine, education and security are often paid for using the blunt instrument of socialism because the infrastructure enabling the public to anticipate the exact need for resources to optimally fund them is not yet present

taxes are the largest source of socialism in an economy

when carried to excess, using government authority to define equilibrium prices grossly misallocates resources and promotes disorder and instability

since government authority is exercised to maintain order and stability, a gentle and elegant approach to adjusting for economic unknowns in pricing is therefore indispensable

adeptly applied (g = m), government authority's place becomes that of benevolent steward over an economy rather than ignorant and whimsical overlord of it

as an economy matures to the point where it can identify and invite its top stewards into government, the risk of socialism declines insofar as asking the most systemically-efficient price-setters to operate as public trustees is a formality that produces little change in the economic outcome: property is governed by those who stably grow it for everyone

disclaimer: "socialism" is not a real word since the technical concept it refers to has been superseded by some other ambiguous definition that aids the recruitment of people into mobs. after presenting only a technical definition, the word "socialism" is deprecated as it has no use among people who are capable of responsibly judging matters for themselves, and willing to accept accountability for their personal opinions