Describe the different ideas in socialism, liberalism and conservatism?

First, it
should be recognized that there are different definitions for these terms, especially liberalism
and socialism. This answer will address the terms as they are popularly used.

Socialism describes a political and economic system where the people, through their
government, control the means of production, i.e. manufacturing and agriculture. Socialist
systems are generally "planned" economies, in that the economy is regulated and
controlled, to a large extent, by the central government. Under these conditions, government
generally controls and offers many major services controlled by the private sector in other
economies. These include (especially) health care, transportation, and social...