being capitalist or socialist

Reading a book on history of conservatism in America, I feel that the reason for someone to agree with Socialism or it's opposite- Capitalism is purely circumstantial. If one sees Socialism in his past, then he tries to revolt and put personal freedom in front. On the other hand, when one is withered with the power-driven society, then the way to revolution is mostly about forming communities and sharing the benefits. In our times, of course there is a sort of convergence between the two tendencies, even though is not uncommon to see either of the extremes in media. I think all civilizations have had a dualism of some kind ; the particular case of capitalism and socialism is indeed the most remarkable of them all. The causes of two world wars in last century might seem to be rooted in racial strife or manic dictators, but they probably have had more to do with the conflict between these two economic philosophies.

I recently learned about the book "Road to Serfdom" by Hayek, an Austrian economist, who along with others in the Austrian academia who have had limited freedom during the war years, equated socialism with totalitarianism and claimed that authoritarianism is inherent in socialist ideals. In the back-drop of failing socialist policies in Europe and later due to the failure of Stalinism in USSR, the works of Hayek influenced many neo-liberals in America.