Wednesday, October 30th, 2019
Stephan: Here is some hard data on what I see as one of the major social trends in politics. I take it as good news because it means that the younger generations support the idea that the role of society should be to foster wellbeing. But only an actual election, specifically the election of 2020, will reveal the reality of how these people vote.
Young Americans continue to lose faith in capitalism and embrace socialism, according to a new YouGov/Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation survey of more than 2,000 Americans 16 years and older.
Why it matters: Bernie Sanders, a self-avowed democratic socialist, is one of the top presidential candidates in the 2020 Democratic field. His flagship health care proposal, Medicare for All, has driven the national conversation and moved the Democratic Party significantly to the left — even among candidates like Elizabeth Warren who consider themselves capitalists.
The big picture: 50% of millennials and 51% of Generation Z have a somewhat or very unfavorable view of capitalism — increases of 8 and 6 percentage points from last year. Meanwhile, the share of millennials who say they are “extremely likely” to vote for a candidate who identifies as a socialist doubled.
- Nearly half of Gen Z and millennial respondents said they felt the U.S. economic system worked against them — more than other generations. They’ve grown up in a capitalist country where economic inequality has continued to climb.
- Many are burdened with […]
