There was a window of time (roughly from the eighties until about 2016) when "socialist" wouldn't be used because it was perceived as outdated, too linked with

There was a window of time (roughly from the eighties until about 2016) when "socialist" wouldn't be used because it was perceived as outdated, too linked with the Cold War and Red Scare... so it would be painted as "entitlement" or "lack of personal responsibility": if you wanted to read, you should have bought your own damn books. (I think the discourse is being revamped in light of the rise of democratic socialism in US politics)