War Angel made some good points- odd, cos some of the capitalists here seem to be talking hypocritical nonsense.
Communism doesn't really work in a modern western nation, that's true. But neither does capitalism. The best solution is a sort of blend, like Sweedish 'free-karket socialism' or Keynesism (is that right?). Personally, I think both these systems are a little too capitalist-freindly, but they give the equality and fairness of a socialist one, while retaining the personal freedom of a capitalist one.
That is, a good capitalist one. Nations like the USA are pretty prone to propaganda. Not just in the traditional style, but as advertising. Have you seen that stuff? it's all 'BuyBuyBuy! You need more stuff!' or 'You're ugly and old and fat and smelly! Buy our crap!' and of course 'Spent all your money on crap? then take out a big loan, and become deeper in debt!'. Capiatlsim seems to force people into a cycle of greed, self-loathing and fear, so that they never stand up for themselves.
Look at the amount of advertising youy see throughout a day. Now, imagine that it wasn't from a hundred different sources, but from one source. Wouldn't that look just like the USSR or Third Reich or something? Bloody creepy!