Why are so many Americans against Socialism?
Basically it’s an unworkable system. But Americans are almost pathological about their aversion to all things “socialist”. It’s kind of funny, actually. One can build instant mass opposition to things like public medicine (something that the rest of the Western, capitalist world offers without an issue) by simply call int socialist. I’m surprised they haven’t gotten rid of public education and public libraries – those are just as socialist…
Simple answer: Propaganda. It helps to understand it in terms of class. The business class or the elite, very powerful in U.S. society relative to other western nations, hates socialism — at least for the poor. It has so far been the only worthy rival to capitalism that enables them to profit unfettered, frequently at the expense of the working class and poor. In a “free” society, one doesn’t necessarily dictate values and beliefs; instead, they are incorporated into every-day life through television, educational facilities, etc. — simply presented as “the norm,” thus making it easily adopted, hard to defy by the masses. This is a lesson that was learned by the business class and applied with great enthusiasm since at least World War II. Hence, the threat of socialism — i.e., the threat of loss of profit (and power) — was beaten back vigorously with propaganda. The Cold War brought this rivalry to the forefront. The threat of nuclear warfare allowed for easy propagandizing through
