According to a recently released poll conducted by Gallup, Americans are warming in favor to Socialism over Capitalism when it comes to adults aged 18 to 29. The data also shows that teenagers aged 14 to 17, are split 50- 50 in whether they view Socialism favorably.
The trend is a growing one among young people who since 2010, have been having a growing positivity toward Socialism, thanks in part to politicians who have been speaking positively of it. “Young people do not remember the Cold War, and thus don’t associate Socialism with an enemy of the United States,” Emily Elkins, polling director at the Cato Institute told Fox News.
Socialism has been trending in a positive direction for the last ten years given in part thanks to politicians (some of whom are running for President), have been speaking positively of it, most notably, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren just to name a few.
Ten years ago, in 2010, Democrats were evenly split about having a positive view of Socialism and Capitalism, now ten years later, 57 percent hold a positive view of socialism and only 47 percent for capitalism.
Mariam Webster’s definition of Socialism is, 1) any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods, and 2) a system of society or group living in which there is no private property.
Some of the prominent 2020 Presidential candidates have proposed programs that would be defined as socialistic in policy if enacted by the United States Federal Government. Some of these programs include, universal “free,” healthcare which would be provided by the government, along with an increase in social program spending and also an emphasis on the environment through governmental regulations and an increase in taxation among fossil fuel companies.
Some of the 2020 Democratic candidates who are running and who would be considered as socialist are on top in some of the early states like Iowa and New Hampshire. Recently released polls show Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden neck and neck in the first in the nation caucus in Iowa, and Sanders on top in New Hampshire the second state in the Democratic contest.
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders recently said “you see every other major country providing health care to all people as a right except the U.S.,”. New polls show him gaining a substantial lead in Iowa, just weeks ahead of the contest. Sanders is up 25 percent while Indianapolis mayor Pete Buttigieg is in second with 18 percent, and former Vice President Joe Biden comes in a distant third at 17 percent.
In the second state, New Hampshire, Sanders is leading a majority of the polls with some polls giving him a double-digit lead. Polling shows Sanders with 29 percent supporting him, while 17 percent support Pete Buttigieg and former Vice President Joe Biden coming in a distant third with 14 percent.
“Many young people change their minds as they get older and take on more responsibilities,” Ekins continued noting the generational gap between supporting socialism and capitalism.
Concluding, it shouldn’t be surprising that Socialism is gaining in popularity given the fact that younger students are routinely taught about the benefits of Socialism compared to the evils of Capitalism, along with how certain politicians use it for their own political advantage.
Foobar says
The Republican party has been crying wolf with “socialism” for decades, routinely using it to denounce any policy or candidate to their left. Bill “Third Way” Clinton was a socialist, Barack “continue the Bush administration” Obama was a socialist, Hillary “Goldman Sachs” Clinton was a socialist.
https://thinkprogress.org/a-history-of-republicans-calling-democrats-socialists-777bcd2b7a6d/
If everyone is a socialist, why should kids be afraid of socialists?