[whatshisface]

>weird hatred for communism and socialism

Communist and socialist (by name) regimes in South America have caused more trouble for their own citizens than any leftist (by name) regime has caused for the world of capital. I don't think those posters necessarily absorbed that opinion from the US, in fact I think the US absorbed a lot of its own anticommunism from refugees. Historically it has been the business community advocating for détente and trade.

[jawbah]

Absolutely. What troubles me in this discourse about "socialism" is that when it's brought up it's USSR and Cuba as opposed to Scandinavia. Northern Europe countries, despite the weather and high taxation rates, consistently occupy the better part of all kinds of lists trying to assess the level of happiness and social cohesion. Of course there are other reasons for it, such as a largely mono-ethnic population, but I doubt their vast social net hurts.