By Christine Zhang, Caroline Soler and Ruth Igielnik | The New York Times
Progressive and socialist candidates have seemingly made inroads into mainstream politics, with self-identified socialists winning several Democratic primaries this year and a popular democratic socialist leading New York City. And polls show that the concept of socialism, once deeply unpopular in the United States, has gained some momentum.
But those polls also show that support is still limited. Understanding the shifting support of socialism is complicated by disagreement about what the term even means.
Most Americans dislike socialism, but it is becoming more popular.
Americans are becoming more open to socialism, but they have not broadly embraced it. In August, positive impressions of socialism topped 40 percent for the first time since Gallup began tracking that figure in 2010. In contrast, negative views of capitalism have sharply increased.
Americans’ views of socialism and capitalism
Views of socialism remain deeply divided along party lines. A New York Times/Siena poll in September found that a majority of Democrats viewed the concept favorably. Overall, just under 30 percent of registered voters had a favorable view of socialism.
Article continues here.
Leave a Reply