The major arena of ideological conflict in the world centers on this matter of property and property ownership.

No matter what it is called or in what ideological terms it is couched, the issue of property, and of the ownership and control of property, lies fundamentally at the root of most if not all ideological debate.

Many people today suppose and claim that capitalism and property is the opposite of socialism and communism, and that the principles and concepts of capitalism are diametrically opposed to the ideas and ideals offered by socialist and communist proponents.  This is not true.

Capitalism is here to stay.  That property (and thus capital) exist simply cannot be reasonably disputed.

The matter of debate among the various degrees of socialist and communist thinking is this:  WHO is to own the capital?  Who is to own (or control) the resources and the tools of production?  Who is to own or control the results of production?

As we will see, the major distinction between socialism and non-socialism relates almost entirely to the question of ownership.