Capitalism, socialism and communism are purely economic systems. Whether they are good or bad for a country is determined by whether or not citizens have a say in their government.
Under Stalin, people had no say and millions died, so people think communism is bad.
Under our current predatory capitalistic system, the oppression is more subtle and insidious. The powerful have the ability to shape our view of reality and influence our opinions to the point that we support candidates, policies and laws that are clearly not in our best interests.
I’m not sure which form of totalitarianism is more evil. I think I’d prefer straight-up exploitation over the form of totalitarianism we are now experiencing, which messes with people’s minds and shapes our world view and limits our thinking and our nation’s potential.
Getting money out of politics is our only hope. On the state level, a good first step would be to sign Ray Metcalfe’s anti-corruption initiative petition so that labor lawyers won’t be voting on labor laws and oil execs can’t pass laws that make their companies rich.