> You see this type of usage elsewhere, for instance "state" schools[1]

Schools operated at the city/county level are called public schools in the US, no? So in the same vein these stores should either be called public or city stores.

Note that the Guardian article instead talks about "city-run" and "municipal-run" grocery stores. And the reason I'm mentioning this is that "city-run" sounds harmless while "state run" is exactly what you mention: "Coops get nowhere near the pushback (if any) that state run businesses (ie. "communism") get from Americans."

>Schools operated at the city/county level are called public schools in the US, no?

Right, I'm pointing out that "state" in the english language isn't limited to just US states. If you're not convinced by that, there's also "state" owned enterprises in countries that don't even have "states" (eg. China).

>Note that the Guardian article instead talks about "city-run" and "municipal-run" grocery stores. And the reason I'm mentioning this is that "city-run" sounds harmless while "state run" is exactly what you mention: "Coops get nowhere near the pushback (if any) that state run businesses (ie. "communism") get from Americans."

The only difference between municipally and states owned enterprises (both the US state kind and "government" kind) is in scale. Objections to state ownership mainly revolve around state coercion (you can't opt out of a municipal grocery store, especially if it's funded by tax dollars), and potential for self-dealing. Both these concerns exist for municipal grocery stores, but not coops.

I actually did live in "communism" with only state-run enterprises and let me assure you that scale is very far from the only difference.

> in countries that don't even have "states" (eg. China)

China is the state.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_(polity)