Yup. Vocab is a big thing. In the USA, the words' socialist' and 'communist' have very derogatory meanings.

All countries are socialist, because all countries have governments that spend tax money on the expenses. In 'fascist' socialist systems (like China), the State decides where to spend the money. In 'deomocratic socialist systems, the people vote where to spend the money.

In welfare states, like Germany, Portugal, and most of western Europe, that state is more 'progressive' in that it actively works on the redistribution of wealth. What nobody seems to be doing, however, is applying modern technology to sorting out problems. That was very much the idea when Progressivism reared its head in the last 19th century.

I would agree with you that, in the USA, the words have a negative meaning.