One clue is that the professor presumably would have known the difference between socialism and communism. The example used in this class was strict communism.
Under most forms of socialism, there is still incentive to get ahead, and people are not treated exactly equally. A doctor, for example, still commands a premium wage over a ditchdigger. The difference is simply that the wage inequality which occurs under capitalism is kept somewhat in check (especially under most hybrid systems, which appear to be the most successful, which fuse elements of both capitalism and socialism together), and a minimum living standard (usually pretty low) is guaranteed to it’s citizens.
Does anyone here really think that, for example, a CEO actually should be paid 200-300x the average salary of his workers (which is roughly the current average)? Or a trust fund kiddy who’s dad made it big, but who has never actually done anything productive themselves make – simply based on capital investment alone – hundreds of thousands of dollars a year?
