Socialism and Communism are dirty words in the U.S., but why? A lot of it has to do with a mixture of historical, political, and economic factors.
- The Cold War Legacy which involved decades of anti-communist propaganda which painted socialism and communism as existential threats, linking them to authoritarianism and repression such as the USSR and China, but true socialism and communism are not authoritarian at all. The means of production are in the hands of the workers.
- Capitalist interests: The U.S. economic system is built on Capitalism and the ruling class such as billionaires, corporations, and politicians … all who have a vested interest in maintaining it. Socialism and communism challenge the private wealth accumulation so there’s a strong incentive to demonize them.
- Misinformation: Most Americans don’t actually know what socialism or communism are, thanks to decades of education and media framing them as inherently oppressive rather than economic and political systems with various interpretations.
- Republicans and many Democrats use “socialism” as a scare tactic to rally voters. Anything that threatens corporate control or wealth concentration gets labeled as “socialist” to shut down discussion.
- The military-industrial complex would be challenged by a socialist-leaning government. It would challenge the defense budget and imperialist interventions, threatening the profits of the defense industry and its political allies.
A lot of the American opposition to Socialism and Communism is rooted in elite interests rather than genuine ideological differences. Capitalism’s defenders know that socialism could work too well for the average person and not for the billionaires.
Sisyphus Shrugged 
It’s not as bad but similar here, people use – mostly communism as a slur, I know of two guys who keep using the word to describe oppressive taxation of low income earners, the failings of (free) healthcare an how if you have Private Healthcare you get attention faster. The cost of groceries, fuel, services, utilities bla bla bla are still high even though interest rates and inflation are dropping, all of which are faults of capitalism gone unchecked.
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“Smash the control machine!” as Otep would say. I always loved the line from that song, “There isn’t any cure for the poor or uninsured.”
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Great lyrics, she even manages to get references to Ayn Rand in there – “So when Atlas shrugs, and the fountainhead bleeds”
My favourite is – “Work. Buy. Consume. Die.” I love a good chant 🙂
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I read Atlas Shrugged when I was 18 and loved it. I read it again at 30 and hated it. I’ve never read The Fountainhead, but a friend of mine has. I asked him what it was about and he said, “A bunch of sociopaths.”
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I had the same reaction to Atlas Shrugged, it inspired me when I first read it, the fact that Taggart was a woman only made me like it more. I re-read it and thought it was horrible the way that everything was about them, Rand portrays workers like they are followers of these cult leaders. This was about 3 years ago I think.
With the Fountainhead, I read that directly after Atlas Shrugged and liked that as well, at the time Roark’s idealism and dedication seemed cool, I’m sure if I tried it I’d be thinking the same way as your friend. I won’t be reading that again.
You hear that people become more conservative as they age but I find the opposite, as a kid I didn’t care, now every aspect of that ideology is repugnant.
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