Oct 28, 2019

70% of millennials say they'd vote for a socialist

Expand chart

Data: YouGov, Victims of Communism; Note: Number of Gen Z respondents: 303, Millennial: 554, Gen X: 494, Boomer: 587, Silent: 162; Chart: Axios Visuals

Young Americans continue to lose faith in capitalism and embrace socialism, according to a new YouGov/Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation survey of more than 2,000 Americans 16 years and older.

Why it matters: Bernie Sanders, a self-avowed democratic socialist, is one of the top presidential candidates in the 2020 Democratic field. His flagship health care proposal, Medicare for All, has driven the national conversation and moved the Democratic Party significantly to the left — even among candidates like Elizabeth Warren who consider themselves capitalists.

The big picture: 50% of millennials and 51% of Generation Z have a somewhat or very unfavorable view of capitalism — increases of 8 and 6 percentage points from last year. Meanwhile, the share of millennials who say they are "extremely likely" to vote for a candidate who identifies as a socialist doubled.

Nearly half of Gen Z and millennial respondents said they felt the U.S. economic system worked against them — more than other generations. They've grown up in a capitalist country where economic inequality has continued to climb.
Many are burdened with college debt, have seen little wage growth and face the threat of job loss due to automation — all while the top 1% continue to accumulate wealth.
Socialism and communism also don't bring the same negative associations and memories that they have for older generations. Even the oldest millennials were just children when the Berlin Wall fell.

By the numbers: 19% of millennials and 12% of Gen Z said they thought the Communist Manifesto "better guarantees freedom and equality for all" than the Declaration of Independence. That's compared to just 2% of baby boomers and 5% of Gen X.

Just 7% of boomers said they had at least a "somewhat favorable" view of communism — compared to more than a third of millennials and more than a quarter of Gen Z.

The bottom line: Young people's political views often change as they grow older, but their support for socialist ideas and leaders is a sign that the old rules of politics are changing fast.

Go deeper

Stef W. Kight

Americans of all ages see Trump as bigger threat to world peace than Putin or Kim

Data: YouGov, Victims of Communism; Note: Number of Gen Z respondents: 303, Millennial: 554, Gen X: 494, Boomer: 587, Silent: 162; Table: Axios Visuals

Americans across all generations have something in common: They are more likely to say President Trump is a bigger threat to world peace than North Korea's Kim Jong-un, Russia's Vladimir Putin, China's Xi Jinping or Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro, according to a new YouGov poll for the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, a nonprofit educational group.

Why it matters: Those of all ages see the president — the leader of the free world — as equally or more dangerous to global peace than dictators with histories of oppression and human rights violations.

Go deeper: 70% of millennials say they'd vote for a socialist

Keep ReadingOct 28, 2019

Caitlin Owens

Increasing millennial health problems set up future economic challenges

Illustration: Rebecca Zisser/Axios

Millennials' health problems are on the rise, with future adverse consequences to both their own finances as well as the U.S. economy, according to a new report by the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association.

What they found: As millennials age, their health is declining faster than Generation X, and they're increasingly suffering from conditions like hypertension, high cholesterol, depression and hyperactivity.

Go deeperNov 7, 2019

Jessie Li

The millennial retirement savers

Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios

In an age where “ok boomer” is a rallying cry for young people fed up with older people who don’t understand them, stereotypes abound of millennials spending money poorly.

The big picture: Labor economist Teresa Ghilarducci tells Axios that millennials don't behave differently than prior generations — they're just thrust into different circumstances. They’re less likely to be offered pensions or qualify for employer-sponsored retirement plans, so they start saving later in life and accumulate less compared to their predecessors. Two-thirds of millennials have no retirement savings at all.

Go deeperNov 16, 2019