Apr 16
Annual Survey Shows Rise in Support for Socialism, Communism
One-in-four Americans seek end of capitalist system
Over a quarter of Americans (26%) support the “gradual elimination of a capitalist system in favor of a more socialist system”
Thirty percent of younger Americans (Gen Z) have a favorable view of Marxism
More than one-in-three members (38%) of Gen Z hope Joe Biden “pursues socialist policies over capitalist ones” if elected
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation (VOC) today released its fifth Annual Report on U.S. Attitudes Toward Socialism, Communism, and Collectivism. The report, polled by internationally recognized research and data firm YouGov, synthesizes data from 2,100 representative U.S. respondents ages 16 and older, and the margin of error is plus or minus 2.32%.
This year’s study showed increased favorability of the term ‘socialism’ (49%) among Gen Z compared to 2019 (40%). Opinions of capitalism declined slightly from 2019 to 2020 among all Americans (58% to 55%), with Gen Z (ages 16-23) slightly up (49% to 52%) and Millennials (ages 24-39) down (50% to 43%). 35% of Millennials and 31% of Gen Z support the gradual elimination of the capitalist system in favor of a more socialist system.
“In a year where Bernie Sanders and lawmakers such as AOC and The Squad normalized socialism as top-tier politicians, and young Americans have taken to the street to protest inequality, it’s clear socialism, communism, and Marxism have a new appeal to Americans,” said Marion Smith, VOC’s Executive Director. “When one-in-four Americans want to eliminate capitalism and embrace socialism, we know that we have failed to educate about the historical and moral failings of these ideologies.”
The report’s findings include the following:
- 40% of Americans have a favorable view of socialism, up from 36% in 2019. Socialist sentiment is increasing among younger generations with Gen Z’s favorability at 49%, up from 40% in 2019.
- Gen Z’s favorability toward communism holds steady at 28% favorability, compared to 22% of Millennials (a 14% decrease from 2019).
- Over a quarter of Americans (26%) support the gradual elimination of the capitalist system in favor of a more socialist system with a surge in support among younger generations (31% of Gen Z and 35% of Millennials).
- If Joe Biden were to become president, 30% of Americans prefer the advancement of socialist policies over capitalist policies with increased support among Gen Z (38%) and Millennials (35%).
- 18% of Gen Z and 13% of Millennials think communism is a fairer system than capitalism and deserves consideration in America.
- Favorable opinions toward Marxism are increasing in the youngest generation but decreasing or holding steady in older generations. 30% of Gen Z has a favorable view of Marxism, up 6% from 2019, compared to 27% of Millennials, down 9% from 2019.
- 22% of Americans are likely to vote for a democratic socialist with the sentiment increasing among younger generations (28% of Gen Z, up 6% from 2019, and 27% of Millennials, up 3% from 2019).
- 63% of Gen Z and Millennials (compared to 95% of the Silent Generation), believe the Declaration of Independence better guarantees freedom and inequality over the Communist Manifesto, a 6% increase for Millennials from 2019.
- Over one-third of Americans (39%) are likely to support a member of the Democratic Socialist party for office with greater support among younger generations (51% of Gen Z and 44% of Millennials). 16% of Gen Z and Millennials are likely to support a member of the Communist party for office.
The full-length report is available here.
