Millennial socialism

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Part of a series on
Socialism in
the United States
History
Utopian socialism

Progressive Era

Repression and persecution

Anti-war and civil rights movements

Contemporary

People
Active organizations
Defunct organizations
Literature
Related topics
  • Red flag II.svg Socialism portal
  • Flag of the United States.svg United States portal
  • v
  • t

Millennial socialism is a resurgence of interest in democratic socialism and social democracy among Americans born in the 1980s and later, generationally known as millennials and Generation Z.

Background[]

Democratic Socialists of America at Occupy Wall Street, 2011

American millennials and Generation Z are much more supportive of socialist politics and economic redistribution than prior generations.[1] Some American millennials, born between 1981 and 1996, support policies that would widen social safety nets and provide relief for student debt and health care costs.[2] In multiple late 2010s polls, young Americans viewed socialism positively and had a far less favorable view of capitalism than their forebears.[3][4] According to a 2021 Axios poll, 49% of Americans aged 18 to 34 viewed capitalism positively, compared to 58% in 2019.[5] Capitalism, increasingly dissociated from its connotations of American Cold War success, developed an association with corporate greed and exacerbating climate change.[2] Some commentators and researchers have argued that millennial support for socialism can be more accurately described as support for social democracy, as opposed to socialism as traditionally conceived (e.g, a planned economy).[6][7][8]

As a generation, American millennials grew up with political discussions about class and inequality, the youngest millennials having been teenagers during the 2011 Occupy Wall Street.[9] Young Americans generally face worse economic prospects than their forebears, including worse cost of living,[2] debt, career opportunities, and social services.[9] A 2019 SuperMoney report showed that average millennial income growth is flat after inflation.[2]

Electoral politics[]

The American democratic socialist politicians Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have wide support among some millennials.[2] A 2019 YouGov poll showed a majority of millennial and Generation Z respondents as likely to vote for a socialist candidate[2] and millennial voters in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary preferred the democratic socialist candidate Sanders over eventual winner Joe Biden by 20 percentage points. Throughout the late 2010s, millennials revitalized the aging Democratic Socialists of America from a marginalized advocacy group to 100,000 members nationwide.[9] Sanders and millennial socialists invoke the Nordic model as an alternative, in which taxes on capitalist markets and a significant portion of take-home income fund the government.[2]

Jeremy Corbyn of the United Kingdom Labour Party had a similarly energizing effect on his country's millennials, though while he tripled the political party's size to become the largest in western Europe, its growth was not driven primarily by young people: the average age remained similar to that before the expansion.[10]

Analysis[]

A 2019 Pew Research poll found that millennials and Generation Z were far more distrustful of others than prior generations, suggesting that millennial socialist interest in state intervention might be less from belief in human goodness and social trust, and more from a lack of such trust.[1]

Economist Ed Glaeser credits "boomer socialism" for the rise of millennial socialism. Although baby boomers (born 1946 to 1964) have an unfavorable view of socialism, they received Social Security, Medicare, and subsidized mortgages.[2]

References[]

  1. ^ a b Levitz, Eric (August 15, 2019). "America's Most Socialist Generation Is Also Its Most Misanthropic". Intelligencer. Archived from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Wallace, Danielle (January 30, 2020). "What is millennial socialism?". Fox News. Archived from the original on March 3, 2020. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
  3. ^ Solis, Marie (May 4, 2020). "Why Gen Z Is Turning to Socialism". Vice. Archived from the original on May 15, 2021. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  4. ^ Salmon, Felix (January 27, 2019). "More Americans aged between 18 and 24 prefer 'socialism' to 'capitalism'". Axios. Archived from the original on June 5, 2021. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  5. ^ Salmon, Felix (June 25, 2021). "America's continued move toward socialism". Axios. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  6. ^ Pethokoukis, James. "Some thoughts of Millennials, Socialism and Scandinavia". American Enterprise Institute.
  7. ^ "Millennials believe in free markets and want a Scandinavian welfare state". Promarket.
  8. ^ Ekins, Emily. "Why so many millennials are socialists".
  9. ^ a b c Beery, Zoë (November 27, 2020). "The Rich Kids Who Want to Tear Down Capitalism". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 8, 2021. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  10. ^ Mead, Julia (January 10, 2017). "Why Millennials Aren't Afraid of Socialism". The Nation. ISSN 0027-8378.

Further reading[]

Retrieved from ""