According to Polls, Americans Like Socialism a Lot

A crop of recent polls shows that socialism’s appeal is surprisingly broad. They also reflect a transformed US political landscape that is ripe for a socialist politician to capitalize on — if they’re willing to step up.

By Branko Marcetic, Jacobin

Socialism is more popular than it’s been for a long time, both socialism and its most well-known adherents appeal to a surprisingly diverse voter base, and most people still have no idea who Hasan Piker is.

Zohran Mamdani swearing in by Bernie Sanders

Zohran Mamdani getting sworn in as mayor by Bernie Sanders. NYC Mayor's Office

Those are just a few of the takeaways from a crop of polls conducted over the past month or so, which together suggest the radicalized, antiestablishment zeal that’s taken over the Democratic electorate and opened the door for a rising socialist insurgency is still going strong, with a few surprises in tow. And they come at a potentially crucial time, as socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez weighs whether to make a run for president in 2028, a campaign that many socialists view as pivotal to the future prospects of their movement as a whole.

We should obviously be careful with polls, which are not actual elections and only give us an imperfect snapshot of public opinion at any point in time. Still, while they may not exactly reflect hard numbers, they do often reflect real trends, especially when put alongside other poll results. And as such, these recent ones offer several takeaways.

A new Gallup poll conducted over the month of August puts socialism at its highest positive rating, 43 percent, since the polling firm started asking Americans in 2010. Socialism has hovered just under the 40 point mark every year since, until experiencing a pronounced uptick since last year.

Maybe more significant is the reason for this uptick, which according to Gallup isn’t to do with the attitudes of Democrats — their roughly two-thirds positive view has effectively stayed flat since last year — but thanks to independents, whose positive views of socialism have gone 8 points up to 45 percent.

To be clear, socialism still has a way to go. The same Gallup poll found that capitalism is viewed significantly more positively at 55 percent, effectively unchanged from last year, as is “free enterprise” at 77 percent — which, somewhat confusingly, fell 4 points since last year, part of a more gradual downward slide it’s experienced since 2019. On the other hand, “big business” is in the doldrums, hitting a new low of 35 percent this year.