Why do so many people dislike Socialism?

That's only true if the people in the country see communism as a good thing, right? Most, if not all, see communism as a bad thing if they know history: Lenin and Stalin did certainly not do things that people want to happen in their country.

Once you take the power out of the hands of the people, and presumably are backed by a larger force (a military, a secret police, etc), I guess it doesn't matter much what the people want. It's amazing how the government can slip policies in one-by-one, each time aggravating the public opinion, but not pushing the envelope enough to cause a big enough uproar. I think governing policies that slip under the radar like that can transform a country from one form of government to another even under the eyes of the people.

You forgot Mao Zedong, Pol Pot and Fidel Castro. Not to mention Kim Il Jung; N. Korea has some PRIME real estate right now. Get yours today!

China in particular is lulzy. The government has basically accepted that communism will get them jack $hit so they convert the country to capitalism but rule it with communism so they don't lose the Mandate of Heaven. They starved tens of millions of people to death due to what was essentially miscommunication between the provincial lackeys and their masters in Beijing. I don't know what's worse, a guy like Stalin, who starves his own people on purpose in genocidal proportions, or a guy like Mao, who starves his people in genocidal proportions BY ACCIDENT.

And what a tragic accident it was.

I read this article on Kim Jong-Il. I wish there was more about him. N. Korea has become so isolated, quite literally, that's it hard to find good information to be honest.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/783967.stm