The majority of millennials, those born between 1981-1996, said in a poll released Monday that they would vote for a socialist candidate.
In a YouGov/Victims of Communism poll conducted September 6-13, 70 per cent of millennials said they were somewhat or extremely likely to vote for a socialist in a U.S. election – and those who said they are extremely likely doubled in the last year from 10 per cent in 2018 to 20 per cent in 2019.
Bernie Sanders, an independent Vermont senator and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, is a self-declared Democratic socialist and gave the movement mobility in the 2016 presidential elections where he was defeated by Hillary Clinton in the primary competition.
He advocates for far-left policies like Medicare for All, significantly increasing taxes on higher earners and the Green New Deal.
A poll released Monday shows that 70 per cent of Millennials in the U.S. would vote for a socialist candidate
The rise of Democratic socialists Senator Bernie Sanders (left) and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (right) has shown the shift in younger generations toward favoring this ideology that advocates for bigger government
Elizabeth Warren, a 2020 Democratic frontrunner, has often been lumped with progressive Sanders, but she claims she is a ‘capitalist to my bones’ and it would be ‘wrong’ to label her a socialist
Fellow Democratic socialist and freshman representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was elected to the House in the 2018 midterms and her popularity, especially among younger generations, shows the shift in the U.S. toward a favorable view of the ideology.
Ocasio-Cortez was an organizer for Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign and recently endorsed his second consecutive run for president just a few weeks after his heart attack.
The poll found 50 per cent of millennials – those aged 23-28 – and 51 per cent of Generation Z – those aged 16-22 – have a somewhat or very unfavorable view of capitalism, which is a 8 and 6 per cent increase, respectively, from 2018.
Democratic 2020 contender Elizabeth Warren, although lumped in as a progressive with Sanders, has insisted she is a ‘capitalist to my bones’ and indicated it would be ‘wrong’ to label her a socialist.
Despite the move of younger generations to support socialism, Warren regularly places higher than Sanders in national and regional polls. In recent weeks she has emerged as the frontrunner, even beating out the usual No. 1 candidate former Vice President Joe Biden.
Older generations are much less likely to vote for a socialist candidate, according to the poll.
Only 44 per cent of Generation X, aged 39-54, 33 per cent of Boomers, aged 55-73, and 33 per cent of the Silent Generation, those 74 and older, said they are somewhat or extremely likely to vote for a socialist.
The poll, from Victims of Communism, also indicates more respondents believe Donald Trump is a bigger threat to world peace than totalitarian, communist and corrupt leaders Kim Jong Un, Vladimir Putin, Xi Jingping and Nicolas Maduro
When ignoring generational lines, overall Americans are more hesitant to vote for a self-declared Democratic socialist than they were last year. In this poll, 53 per cent said they are ‘hesitant’ or would ‘never vote for a candidate who identified as socialist compared to the 47 per cent who said they same in 2018.
Another indication that millennials favor socialism over capitalism, the poll found, is that one-in-five said they believe society would be better off if all private property were abolished and it were owned and run by the government instead.
Traditionally, socialist views advocate for bigger government and more government control, while capitalism lends itself to a smaller federal government, less government intervention in business and personal life and prefers the free market to take hold.
Sixty-one per cent of respondents to the survey said they prefer capitalism over other economic systems – the same outcome of the 2018 poll.
The poll, which surveyed more than 2,000 U.S. residents over the age of 16, has a margin of error of 2.4 per cent.
It found that Americans find Donald Trump to be a bigger threat to world peace than North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese leader Xi Jingping and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro – all who run either a communism, totalitarian or otherwise corrupt government.