Reply #59: During the Cold War, western Europe-- and the US as well, were

[Marr]

run with an eye to advertising our way of life to other other nations... to encourage their joining our sphere of influence instead of the Soviets'. It's no coincidence that the real, coordinated assault on social programs in the west coincided with the decline of the USSR. No further need to advertise.

As for the word itself... Americans aren't actually against socialist policies. They tend to support them, in fact. But the word has been demonized by decades of propaganda.