Socialism favorability reached 43% among Americans in September according to Gallup polling data cited by the Orange County Register.
That figure trails capitalism and free enterprise in the national sentiment, yet the generational divide tells a sharper story about shifting economic views.
Among adults aged 18 to 34, socialism earned a 57% favorability rating in the same poll. That demographic tilt emerged clearly in the November 3rd election, where 66% of young voters aged 18 to 29 cast ballots for a Democratic candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives, compared to 30% for a Republican candidate, according to election data analysis cited by the Orange County Register.
The embrace of socialism among younger voters stems from the government’s response to the COVID pandemic beginning in March 2020. During that period, shutdowns closed schools, halted workplaces, and devastated the hospitality industry that employed young adults. To cushion the economic blow, the government conjured $4.5 trillion in COVID relief spending to hand out to people who needed help.
Subsequent federal spending bills reinforced the impression that the government possessed an infinite supply of money. In 2021, lawmakers passed the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act alongside additional tranches of trillions for pandemic relief. Later allocations included $174 billion for Ukraine support through congressional funding measures, followed by $47 billion for the Iran war.
Young adults who were 12 to 28 when the lockdowns began watched officials conjure money from thin air for years. When those same individuals struggle today to pay off student loans, buy a house, afford rent, or cover health insurance premiums, they reject the premise that the government cannot subsidize their essential needs.
Telling them that creating money causes inflation and higher interest rates collides with their lived experience of having years of their lives disrupted for societal mandates.
“Shall A do what he thinks is good for B, and B do what he thinks is good for A?” wrote libertarian author Isabel Paterson in her 1943 book, “The God of the Machine,” as cited by the Orange County Register.
“Or shall A accept only what he thinks is good for B, and vice versa? But that is absurd. Of course what the humanitarian actually proposes is that he shall do what he thinks is good for everybody. It is at this point that the humanitarian sets up the guillotine.”
In California, where pandemic lockdowns lasted longer and proved harsher than in most other states, candidates running under the socialist banner won races for state insurance commissioner, Los Angeles city attorney, and Los Angeles mayor, alongside multiple local city council seats. Republicans lost roughly half the seats they held in the state legislature.
Conversely, Florida restored freedom earlier than other states during the pandemic, and socialism’s appeal drew a smaller crowd there. Republicans swept all statewide offices on November 3rd, held their entire congressional delegation without losing a seat, and maintained their state legislative majorities.
Capitalism remains the economic system of a free country, incentivizing individuals to solve problems in order to build wealth. However, the precedent set by years of emergency government intervention created lasting expectations that officials can finance everything for everyone.
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