Good gracious, I hope I'm not a Republican

I am pretty sure I am not a socialist. In my conception of things, the whole "from each according to his ability, to each according to his need" idea calls for a degree of altruism that just doesn't exist out there. If you tell me that I have a choice of working either 4, 6 or 8 hours a day, whichever I think I'm able to do, and you tell me that I then have a choice of getting paid either $100, $200 or $300 a day, whichever I think I need, well, then, hmm... Let me think about that for a minute. A very altruistic person would be more likely to work to work longer hours for less pay, if it was for the good of society at large. Someone less concerned about the welfare of others might choose shorter hours and longer pay. And I think that creates a big problem, namely that virtue gets punished and selfishness gets rewarded.
At the other extreme (in my conception of things) is laissez-faire capitalism. In this system (at least conceptually) my rewards are commensurate with my efforts. If I work harder, if I take the risks, if I have sharper ideas and take the necessary steps to see them through, well, then, the sky is the limit. Of course, there are big problems with this, too. Maybe the biggest problem is the tendency for the rich to get richer and the poor to get poorer, which naturally occurs as those in positions of power and influence weild their power and influence to maintain their positions.
Anyway, if I were forced to choose between unfettered capitalism on the one hand, and unfettered socialism (which may be an oxymoron) on the other hand, I would have to go with capitalism. If for no other reason, I think that capitalism is more in synch with people's natural tendency to act in their own self-interest. But I also believe in enlightened self-interest, and deferred gratification, and Adam Smith's "invisible hand". And I think we are ready for some new "-isms", like radical centrism or communitarianism. Unfortunately, in today's sound-bite dumbspeak political discourse, "radical centrism and communitarianism" are likely to be conflated into "radical communism". So, I wonder sometimes if Bill Maher is right about us being too dumb to be governed. I look forward to the campaign season being over a week from today.