Who likes socialism and mistrust capitalism? Democrats and young people, who are mostly the same people.
The latest Gallup poll has 57% of Democrats in favor of socialism and 47% trusting capitalism (16% of Republicans also like socialism!); 51% of 18-to-29 year olds trust socialism and 45% of the same cohort trust capitalism.
Capitalism's brand is way, way down, declining sharply among young people and Democrats (it's up among Republicans, but Republicans are a dwindling and aging group of people — one percenters, bootlickers, and temporarily embarrassed millionaires).
Belief in capitalism climbs at age 30, to 58%, and it's 60% for over-50s (don't trust anyone over 30, I guess?).
Meanwhile, belief in "free enterprise" for all Americans is down six percentage points since 2016.
A majority of Democrats have viewed socialism positively each time Gallup has measured the concept since 2010, and — despite the increased visibility given to the concept this year — those views have not changed substantively. But the drop in Democrats' positive views of capitalism this year has for the first time left Democrats more positive about socialism as a concept than about capitalism.It's possible that the drop in Democrats' positive views of capitalism is related to Donald Trump's presidency. Trump is an enthusiastic capitalist, and his administration's efforts to roll back regulations on business and industry, as well as the tax cut law that is advantageous to businesses and corporations, may have caused Democrats to view the entire capitalist enterprise with less positive eyes.
Most young Americans prefer socialism to capitalism, new report finds [Kathleen Elkins/CNBC]
Democrats More Positive About Socialism Than Capitalism [Gallup]
