I tend to agree with you. As the country becomes bigger and more massive in terms of population, it is accompanied by a bigger, more powerful government. The more the people's dependence on government grows, individualism declines. In 1970 our population was 203 million. Today it is 300 million and by 2050, it will be 400 million.
It's just plain easier to "sell" socialism because it promises the masses "sumpin-fer-nuthin".