I think that Americans (at least this American) tend to be a lot more individualistic than most of the worlds population. My wife is German and we are constantly seeing the differences in culture - even though US-German is a lot closer to US-China culture wise. Germans are willing to sacrifice a lot more for the community. I am always grumbling about class fundraising when half my money goes to the German government. She is all about the state stepping in and handing out mandates and I get paranoid when governments start telling me what to do. Personal rights and freedom of speech and all that are baked in to many Americans. Hugely.
So whenever the word socialism comes up I think that most Americans become cautious. For the average American the word socialism brings images of USSR, China, North Korea, Cuba (maybe this one is just my uneducated self), and the like. Thoughts turn to taking ones hard earned money and giving it to others without ones input or consent. Thoughts of freeloaders living off of the efforts of staunch producers. Not saying any of this is right or true but that is what I think many Americans come to and, combined with the individualistic makeup of Americans, the word can spark resistance.
