I grew up in Massachusetts as well and my high school history courses were more critical of the US, but still, the fundamentals of capitalism were never seriously questioned or challenged. There was a subtle conflation of capitalism with freedom and democracy, and I was taught communism was just government owning all property. I learned nothing about economic democracy and workers managing their workplaces, all I was taught was that "Communism = Government taking over your grocery store and Socialism = Big Government and high taxes."

We critically examined many aspects of US history and the crimes committed throughout, like our brutal subjugation of Native Americans and the war crimes committed in Vietnam, but we glossed over issues of economic inequality. There was never any suggestion or discussion that something was fundamentally wrong with our rugged individualistic culture, but we were more than willing to question the merits of a collectivist culture. Every failing of the USSR or China was traced back to the fundamental flaws and deficiencies of socialism, every failing of the US or any capitalist country was traced back to just a few bad apples.