The Gen Z Socialism Surge

They say the only thing you learn from history is that no one learns from history, and this sad truth is becoming apparent with Generation Z’s fascination with one of the most failed ideologies in human history: Marxism. A survey by the Cato Institute and YouGov revealed that 62% of people aged 18-29 have a “favorable view” of socialism, and 34% say the same about communism. This is shocking, considering communism has led to over 100 million deaths worldwide, and socialism is highly correlated with tyranny. The fact that such a large percentage of America’s future leaders view an ideology like socialism in such a favorable light should be of vital concern to mainstream America.

In this year’s election cycle, Zohran Mamdani, a self-proclaimed socialist, became the mayor-elect of New York. How did New York City, the financial capital of the globe, the city that is supposed to be the epitome of climbing the economic ladder, elect someone with the most ill-conceived economic policies? The answer, according to CIRCLE, is young people: Mamdani got 78% of his votes from those aged 18-29.

It is worth noting that the current young adults who are considered Zohran Mamdani’s biggest supporters did not live through or grow up during the height of the Cold War. They didn’t read in the news everyday about communist revolutions around the globe, the suffering of those living in East Berlin who would risk their lives trying to escape over the Berlin Wall, or of those who would cling to the side of an airplane just to get out of communist Cuba in order to live in the United States.

There is a stark irony in American Gen Z being so in favor of socialism. On paper, this generation is the richest, freest, and most prosperous in the history of the world, and they owe that to capitalist, free-market ideals. That is not to say Generation Z doesn’t have extreme struggles; in fact, according to the CDC, Generation Z is the most depressed. Why? The reasoning is mixed, but this startling fact does show a cultural shift, as young people feel the system has failed them. This is a difference from previous generations who grew up believing that hard work and grit can get you where you need to go in life.

Ultimately, the most decisive factor in young people’s infatuation with socialism is the very real economic struggles they face. The combination of stagnant wages and rising housing, tuition, and grocery costs has created a perfect storm, leading young people to turn to socialism, which, in theory, promises free housing and lower costs. Though socialism seems to offer the perfect means to solve all the real economic problems of the time, Gen Z needs to understand that, in every case in which socialism has been tried, it has failed and made economic problems immensely worse.

There is strong evidence that America’s reputation as a capitalist society is likely the reason most young people have a negative view of capitalism. Recent surveys from NORC and the Pew Center show that only about 20% of people have trust in the government, and 50% of under-30-year-old Democrats believe that billionaires are bad for the country. This negative view of politicians and billionaires leads many young people to adopt the notion that capitalism is rigged for the wealthy and well-connected. When in reality the opposite is true.

The majority of US billionaires are self-made, meaning they are not circumstantially rich; they used their skills, ideas, and innovations to become wealthy, which is only possible in a capitalist society and impossible in a socialist one. However, most young people are unaware of this fact and view the world through the lens of the oppressor and the oppressed. In other words, they hold the belief that if someone gets rich, someone else must get poor. This viewpoint is ignorant. Economies are not zero-sum. Wealth isn’t a pie that is divided — the pie itself grows. Young people should be focused on pro-growth policies that raise wages, boost economic activity, and spur business expansion, not destructive policies that lead to more poverty, fewer jobs, and greater misery.

What has capitalism done for the United States over the last several decades? It has made it demonstrably wealthier and more prosperous. GDP per capita — adjusted for inflation — increased from $15,000 in 1950 to $70,000+ today. That increase didn’t come from making someone else poor. It came from growth and innovation. When an entrepreneur creates a new product, such as the iPhone, Instagram, or Google, which most young Americans use habitually, it creates new jobs and generates new wealth. Before smartphones existed, nobody lost wealth to make Steve Jobs rich. A new industry led to millions of workers being hired and trillions of dollars being poured into the market, which led to wealth creation that made everyone richer.

The chart above should be studied in every economics class. It shows that Venezuela used to be richer than Poland, but by 2022, the gap couldn’t have been larger. What changed? Poland adopted free market, capitalist policies, and Venezuela adopted the very socialist policies that a lot of young people view as “favorable.”

Young people are frustrated, and understandably so. But acting on frustrations without all the facts will lead to disaster. We don’t want to be Venezuela.