A new survey conducted in the U.K. showed that millenials failed to properly define what socialism is despite their fervent support of the ideology.
An opinion poll emerging from the U.K. highlights how millenials and other younger generations believe in left-wing ideologies despite not being able to fully comprehend them. From tackling climate change to fighting against racism, the younger generation has had a "knee jerk" reaction to current issues, impacting the way they vote.
Kristian Niemietz of the Institute of Economic Affairs in the U.K. commissioned an opinion poll in July to "get the measure of Millennials and Zoomers," after which he concluded based on the poll that the younger generation's "economic views are irredeemably left-wing."
The survey from the IEA said that the definition of capitalism as "An economic system whereby business, trade and industry is mostly run and owned privately for profit. Prices and wages are determined mainly by competition in a free market," but when survey respondents were asked if this description was that of capitalism or socialism, about 50% of millennials in the survey "did not know or thought it was socialism."
Interestingly, the poll also revealed that millenials and zoomers claimed they wanted to pay "more tax to pay for public services" but at the same time say "less tax, because the government will not spend it wisely." The poll also revealed that millennials and zoomers associated socialism with the words "fair," "equal," and "people," while capitalism was associated with "exploitation," "unfair," and "corporations." The Christian Post argued that the younger generation should be promoting capitalism instead of socialism if they truly want "equality and fairness."
"Capitalism has always and everywhere reduced poverty where it has been tried. Socialism has only impoverished every society it afflicted," the report said.
In the U.S., the same can be said for millenials and zoomers. According to Newsweek, a survey conducted in July asked 1,000 college students at 71 four-year college and universities across the country if they favored socialism versus capitalism.
The results showed that "socialism was viewed more favorably than capitalism among U.S. college students," with 24% of respondents saying they had a positive view of capitalism versus 32% who had a positive view of socialism. The survey also found that politically conservative students were more likely to see capitalism more positively and see socialism more negatively.
In addition, 55% of respondents defined capitalism as "an economic system in which property is privately owned, exchange is voluntary, and production and pricing of goods/services are determined by market forces," which is the definition of free-market capitalism.
Another 45% of the student respondents defined capitalism as "an economic system in which corporations utilize grants, special tax breaks, political connections, and special rules that favor them over competitors to earn profits," which is the definition of crony capitalism.
The surveyors came to the conclusion that there is confusion about what capitalism and socialism truly are and that students who admit to supporting socialism are geared more towards "hyper-redistribution" instead of the "central planning" of it.
