It’s not mutually exclusive, but both priorities the opposite value.

Socialism wants equality, wich can impede personal freedom and the private property that is a big part of our comfort.

Now I don’t think communist state are gathering intelligence because it’s the ideology. They do it it because they are dictatorial, because it’s the only way to unsure the power.

See despite how it seems attractive to us living in rich countries, most of them are plagued by poverty and have a poor economy, wich makes communism not a solution to anything. But dictatorship, violence and radical ideologies does work to keep the power, hence the systematic cohabitation of the two.

For a rich country like the US, well the transition to communism is categorically not realistic. But i think it could theoretically work better than most exemple of communism so far, I think the richer a country is the better it will work.

In the meantime nothing is stopping us from going towards more social policies, be inspired and driven to socialism. Wich can also have compromise.