In a message dated 7/15/2013 12:56:13 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, jejunejesuit.geary2@xxxxxxxxx writes: And looking at oak trees I'm still grateful that trees can't walk. God was good when he made that rule. The only difference in my life now is that I'm a socialist. I've always believed in socialism, of course, but now I'm a real live rooting-tooting socialist. From online etymology: 'socialism'. Only coined in 1832, a free translation from the Gallic, "socialisme" (itself from "_social_ (http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=social&allowed_in_frame=0) e" (cfr. 'socialite') + _-ism_ (http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=-ism&allowed_in_frame=0) . Cf. socialist and 'socialite'. Apparently 'socialist' (but not the cognate 'socialite') was first used in reference to Robert Owen's "communes" -- as he called them. Robert Owen was born in Newtown, a small market town in _Montgomeryshire_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montgomeryshire) , _Mid Wales_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mid_Wales) , on 14 May 1771. He was the sixth of seven children. His father was coincidentally also named Robert Owen as well as four of his (Robert's) brothers. Pierre Leroux, a Gallic idealistic social reformer and Saint-Simonian publicist and 'public relations' person, expressly that he the originator of the word "socialisme". "It cannot be Cicero, since 'socialismus' is not found in his pulblic writings -- vide "Cicero and the Latin neologisms". The word "socialism" (but not the body of beliefs) begins to be used in French in the modern sense c.1835. The word 'socialite' is later in use. Cheers, Speranza