if you were described the u.s. using the same language the western press uses to describe socialist states, you'd invariably imagine something profoundly dystopian

"the two parties in government closely co-operate with each other. they are seen as natural and inflexible elements of the political system. parties that exist aside from these two are suppressed and have limited, if any, access to the franchise."

"massive income disparities may coexist less than a mile from each other. these disparities are often based on ethnic lines. minority ethnicities are suppressed through a robust, all-encompassing police apparatus, and are often used as unfree labor in the country's penal camps."

"wealthy residents live in segregated neighborhoods. they are, by and large, of the favored ethnic group. their communities may be gated, surrounded by walls, and policed by armed private guards. these residents have a hegemonic role in the political process."

"lower-class citizens suffer from chronic hunger, drug addiction, mental illness, and homelessness. they are expected to continue to work despite a continuing epidemic. this epidemic has killed half a million people."

i could go on!

and these are all measurably proven by well-respected, mainstream domestic researchers and journalists! the polemics against socialist countries in the press can have extremely questionable sourcing!