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"Axios on HBO" poll: 55% of women prefer socialism

Photo: Ronen Tivony/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

A Harris poll for "Axios on HBO" finds that socialism is gaining popularity: 4 in 10 Americans say they would prefer living in a socialist country over a capitalist one.

Why it matters: Socialism is losing its Soviet-era stigma, especially among women. Popular Democratic socialists like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders are bringing new life and meaning to the term.

  • 55% of women between 18 and 54 would prefer to live in a socialist country than a capitalist country.
  • But a majority of men prefer to live in a capitalist country.

The big picture: "It's been a truth of American politics for decades that women are to the left of men, and I think that's playing out in this poll," Axios' Felix Salmon noted on "Axios on HBO."

Between the lines: As the Harris poll results below show, the public has varying levels of agreement on what exactly constitutes a socialist political system.

  1. Universal healthcare: 76%
  2. Tuition free education: 72%
  3. Living wage: 68%
  4. State-controlled economy: 66%
  5. State control and regulation of private property : 61%
  6. High taxes for the rich: 60%
  7. State-controlled media and communication: 57%
  8. Strong environmental regulations: 56%
  9. High public spending: 55%
  10. Government ’’democratizes’’ private businesses — that is, gives workers control over them — to the greatest extent possible: 52%
  11. System dependent on dictatorship: 49%
  12. Workers own and control their places of employment: 48%
  13. Democratically-elected government: 46%

What's next: "We've seen this pattern of behavior where women are turning out in higher numbers as voters and as candidates than we've ever seen. They're getting elected in higher numbers than before. They're pushing the conversation in different ways," Axios' Alexi McCammond noted on "Axios on HBO."

  • "They're looking for someone, a candidate on either side, who'll support this idea of a socialist country that they want to live in."

Methodology: This survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of Axios from April 16-18, 2019 among 2,024 adults ages 18 and older.

  • This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. Results are weighted for age within gender, region, race/ethnicity, household income, education, and size of household where necessary to align them with their actual proportions in the population using U.S census data.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to include methodology and a link to the poll questions and crosstabs.

Axios on HBO