I think that's the right distinction to make. Often times, in discussions such as these, people will associate Marxist-type critiques with an immediate conjunc

I think that's the right distinction to make. Often times, in discussions such as these, people will associate Marxist-type critiques with an immediate conjunction to Communism (almost in knee-jerk fashion), because of the historical reasons you mention. I think that's unfortunate because as a critical model, there are valuable insights to be gained from Marxist thought, even if you reject (as I do) the idea of Communism.