Likewise, I've heard people on several occasions call the US a 3rd world country because of its poor social infrastructure.

It's endlessly bizarre to see Americans throw around the word "socialist" as if it was a curse. Western Europe is made of social democracies. Northern Europe in particular has made the choice to live with high taxes and better social services. It does not mean that they are governed by unelected oligarchs, they get the same kind of elected oligarchs as the rest.

There has been a concerted campaign in the US to convince people that other countries' social services are inefficient, dangerous, and hated by their populations.

In a fun example, an American financial newspaper claimed (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/08/12/hawking_british_and_...) that if Stephen Hawking were British and subject to the NHS that he'd be dead. He is, of course, British.

Either there are vested interests at work, or Hawking is in fact a zombie.