There are various forms of government within the societies of the world. They do NOT include capitalism, that is a form of economic system. All the various forms from left to right wing cannot be mentioned but most fall under the following broad categories.

Anarchy: A state of society without government, so technically it does not come under a government classification. However some believe this is to be a utopia, a society which regards the union of order with the absence of a government as the political ideal. So in this light anarchy could be seen as an extreme left wing 'system'.

Communism: Dictatorship of the proletariat; basically a system of social organisation in which all economic activity is conducted by a totalitarian state dominated by a single and self-perpetuating political party (ie the Communist Party). The holding of property in common is also crucial but an emphasis is actual ownership is for the state, not the people. Supposedly to be a means to the ends of social utopia. The problem with Communism is that it became an ends to itself and meant the exploitation and mass loss of life at the hands of Stalin. The state became the voice of the people instead of the reverse.

Socialism: I believe that socialism is similar to communism in some areas but vastly different in others. Its a system of social organisation, government, in which the ownership and control of the means of production, capital, land and the like are vested in the people as a whole. This will probably have to be administered by a government elected by the people for the operation of the society. This would be for the benefit of the people and would be ensured by electing all people to administer the government. Totalitarianism must not become a reality. Freedom of speech, and equality are paramount in socialism. Exact details are tricky. Some people believe in private ownership of money, property etc. up to a certain point. All socialists believe in the redistribution of wealth of the rich elite - Murdoch, Gates, oil giants and the like. The means of achieving this are difficult. Some people advocate violence to justify the ends, I'm not one of them. I do understand how others could use violence when all other means are exhausted. I believe in western countries that all means have not been exhausted, far from it!

Democracy: This is what many capitalist states are based on, with its parliamentary system. People choose who they want to represent them in these parliaments or so they think. The problem with 'democracy' is that in nearly every country there is a two party system. In America its the Democrats and the Republicans; in Australia the Labor Party and the Liberal/National Coalition. These parties are not for the people. Most are puppets of the business community. Even the Labor party does not put people first. The interests of militant trade unions come first.
In addition these parties use the media like TV and newspaper to keep the other groups silent. They are fed huge amounts of money by big business, like banks, mining and oil companies. These companies naturally want something in return, namely policies which put their interests first.
By allowing capitalism to be the economic system, people are not cared for. Capitalism looks after the capitalists, those with money. It cares little for the weak in society. Just look at the Industrial Revolution to see how democracy protected people. Look at the slaves in America to see how they were protected by the beloved American Constitution. The working poor of today, are they any better off? They have 'freedom'; freedom to starve. Deregulation only furthers the problem. The capitalists will in the future have less constraints than before. People in Australia, like me, know all about who the banks look after now. Not the customers, the shareholder.

Fascism: A system of government with strong centralised power, permitting no opposition or criticism, controlling all affairs of the nation (industrial, commercial etc.), emphasising an aggressive nationalism and anti-communist. In this light it has similarities with communism, except for the anti-communist bit! Both are totalitarian and allow no opposition or criticism.
The similarities end there. Communism means state ownership of everything. Under fascism the state colludes with the major industries to give them more power in regards to the economy. Extreme nationalism is also crucial to fascism, indeed often justifying fascism itself. The Italian invasion of Abyssinia (modern day Ethiopia) brought no monetary gain to the country, but it was a great propaganda tool. It provided a nationalist fervour in Italy, justifying fascism to the people.
Modern day fascism is slightly different and may exist in a so called democratic country. Examples include Indonesia with its 'guided democracy' until recently. Malaysia has Prime Minister Mahatir, a racist nationalist whose totalitarian rule is a neo-fascism. In fact Iran could be described as an abstract form of religious fascism, preaching the evils of the west. At the least it is a right wing government in power.

Militarism: A form of government where the army (military) rules. Military efficiency is the supreme ideal of the state and all other interests are subordinated to the those of the military. Militarism often involves extreme nationalism and often comes about because other forms of government have failed. Martial law replaces civilian law. Japanese militarism before and during the second world war is a good example of how easily militarism can take over a government and society.
Modern day militarism exists in many African and Asian countries like Nigeria and the military coup in Fiji in 1987. Militarism is the most common form of right wing totalitarianism left in the world today as it so often rears its head when the army does not like the result of a democracy, like in Argentina or Chile.

Nazism: A system of government in Germany from 1933 until 1945. It believed in state control over the economy, like fascism, extreme racist nationalism and national expansion called lebensraum. Nazism could be described as a form of fascism but it was a lot more than that. Whilst Mussolini was a racist his fascism did not result in the killings of millions of Jews. Hitler truly believed in the Aryan race and its superiority and that his Third Reich would last 1000 years.
Nazism was a lethal combination of fascism, militarism and racialism. Violence, intimidation, propaganda and terror were all crucial to Nazism's existence. Through the Gestapo and the Schutzstaffel (SS) Hitler was almost able to achieve his government's goals of permanent expansion and the destruction of the Jewish race. There are plenty of books on Nazism, so if you want to know more read one of them.

The above are the main forms of government. Dictatorship is a feature of Communism, fascism, militarism and Nazism. The author does however accept that the above definitions are open to interpretation and that the explanations may be considered too simplistic in some regards. Please direct any comments you may have to therage@softhome.net .