According to Gallup, the percentage of Americans’ view of socialism rose almost 20 percent since the early 1940s.
Responding to a question about whether socialism is either good or bad, 51 percent of adults considered it a bad thing, while 43 percent thought socialism was good.
In 1942, a Roper/Fortune poll reported only 25 percent believed socialism was good, while 40 percent believed it was bad.
The rise in support of socialism is also reflected in politics with the popularity of politicians such as Senator Bernie Sander (I-Vt) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), among others, who back policies that increase the role of government in the lives of Americans.
Gallup also looked into Americans’ support for the free market in a number of areas and the results were mixed.
Americans still prefer the responsibility of health care to remain in the free market rather than the government (53% – 44%) but on a much narrower margin than technological innovation (75% – 19%).
Importantly, American adults by a large margin believe the economy should remain responsible for the free market (66% – 33%).
President Trump addressed socialism during his State of the Union speech in February and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) reaffirmed the president’s position.
As long as Donald Trump is in the White House and I’m the majority leader of the Senate, we will not let America turn into a socialist country. pic.twitter.com/8bMPQSvk9Z
— Leader McConnell (@LeaderMcConnell) May 10, 2019
Overall, the Gallup poll has mixed results but the significant rise in the view of socialism is disturbing.
