Americans under 30 are more likely to resent the ultra-rich and support violent acts against the wealthy
- New poll results were published on Tuesday by the Cato Institute
- Americans under 30 split nearly evenly on support of capitalism and socialism
- Slim majority believe the rich earned their wealth by exploiting others
- More than a third say they resent the rich and that violence is justified
Americans under the age of 30 are more likely to resent the rich and even to support violent acts against the wealthy, a new survey has revealed.
The Cato Institute’s annual survey of attitudes toward welfare, work and wealth, published on Tuesday, revealed that 39% of those ages 18 to 29 feel more ‘resentment’ than admiration of rich people, compared to just 16% of those over 65.
Among the younger group, 44% said they felt angry when they read about the very rich, and 35% said they thought citizens could be justified in taking violent action against the rich.
Young Americans were the only age cohort in which a majority believe the wealthy didn’t earn their wealth, the study found.
The Cato Institute’s annual survey of attitudes toward welfare, work and wealth was published on Tuesday. The chart above shows attitudes toward the rich by age
A scene from newly released Joker, in which violence toward the ultra-rich is a major theme
Among Americans under 30, 52% say that ‘most’ rich people in the United States got rich ‘by taking advantage of other people.’
In contrast, a strong 72% majority of seniors over 65 say that most wealthy people in America ‘earned their wealth’ without exploiting people.
Americans under 30 were also much more ambivalent toward capitalism and supportive of socialism.
The survey found support for capitalism and socialism nearly evenly split among young Americans, with 49% saying they are favorable toward capitalism, and 50% saying they are favorable toward socialism.
Among all age groups, a majority (59%) of Americans have favorable views of the word ‘capitalism,’ while 39% have an unfavorable view of it.
The reverse numbers hold true for ‘socialism’ in the general population, with just 39% favorable and 59% unfavorable.
Young Americans were the only age cohort in which a majority believe the wealthy didn’t earn their wealth, the study found
The survey found support for capitalism and socialism nearly evenly split among young Americans, with 49% saying they are favorable toward capitalism and 50% for socialism
Enthusiasm for socialism among young Americans has driven strong age divides in support for the various candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Young Democrats are about three times more likely to support self-described democratic-socialist Senator Bernie Sanders for the nomination, according to the Cato Institute.
As of spring 2019, 40% of under-30 Democrats supported Bernie Sanders compared to 14% of Democrats over age 65.
In contrast, older Democrats were nearly three times as likely as younger Democrats to prefer Joe Biden over Sanders.
The survey, conducted by polling firm YouGov, collected responses from 1,700 Americans ages 18 and older between March 5 and 8.
The responses were weighted to be representative of the national population.