Poll: 61% of Generation Z Have a Favorable View of Socialism

Young Americans are more likely to embrace socialism than past generations, according to a poll published by Axios on Monday.

According to the poll, conducted by the Harris Poll, 61 percent of Generation Z — Americans aged between 18 and 24 — have a positive reaction to the word “socialism.”

That is compared to 58 percent of Generation Z who have a positive reaction to the word “capitalism.” And among all Americans, 39 percent are “well-disposed toward socialism.”

Axios reported:

Why it matters: The word “socialism” does not carry the same stigma it did in the past, now that it has been resurrected by celebrity politicians like Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Young people’s political views often change as they grow older, but their support for socialistic policies is a sign that the old rules of politics are changing fast.

Ocasio-Cortez, a former Sanders organizer, ran and won on a Democratic-Socialist platform in her district.

However, older generations had a less positive view of socialism. Millennials, defined as between age 25 to 34, viewed socialism positively at 51 percent.

Positive views dropped dramatically among those in Generation X, defined as between ages 35 to 44. Only 38 percent had a positive view of socialism.

Those ages 45 and up were even less positive about socialism with numbers going into the 20s.

According to Harris, Generation Z and millennials are projected to make up 37 percent of the electorate in 2020.

Harris also took a look at top voting issues for each generation.

The top three voting issues for Generation Z were mass shootings, racial equality, and immigration policy and treatment of immigrants.

For millennials, it was access to health care, global warning/climate change, and mass shootings.

For Generation X, the top issues were health care, terrorism/national security, and the national debt — the same issues for baby boomers and older generations.

The poll was conducted between February 21-25, among 2,035 adults.