Poll: Socialist Views Gaining Ground, Particularly Among Women

An increasing number of Americans are seeing socialism in a more positive light, a recent Harris poll shows.

The new Harris poll, conducted for “Axios on HBO,” revealed that an increasing number of Americans have a favorable view of socialism. While roughly 40 percent across the board preferred a socialist system to a capitalist one, the number increased among women. About 55 percent of women surveyed said that a socialist country was preferable to a capitalist country. Those results cannot be attributed to a generational gap, as those surveyed were between the ages of 18 and 54.

More men preferred a capitalist society to a socialist one.

“It’s been a truth of American politics for decades that women are to the left of men, and I think that’s playing out in this poll,” Axios’ Felix Salmon said, according to Axios.

However, respondents were unable to agree on the specific factors that compose a socialist society. Forty-nine percent said a socialist system is “dependent on dictatorship.” Fifty-seven percent said “state-controlled media and communication” is a hallmark of a socialist regime, and 61 percent said “state control and regulation of private property” is essential. Just over three-fourths (76 percent) said universal health care is a must.

The online survey was conducted April 16-18, 2019, polling 2,024 adults above the age of 18.

More on the methodology, via Axios:

This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. Results are weighted for age within gender, region, race/ethnicity, household income, education, and size of household where necessary to align them with their actual proportions in the population using U.S census data.

The results echo a Harris poll released to Axios in March. It found socialism growing in popularity among millennials and Gen Z.

This comes at a time Democrat candidates are embracing far-left socialist ideas as cornerstones of their campaigns.

Notorious socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) maintains his asecond place lead among the candidates, averaging 17 percent support. Despite that, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), and Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D) are gaining ground, averaging 7.8 percent, 7.3 percent, and seven percent respectively.