With Democrat socialist Bernie Sanders gaining momentum in the polls for the 2016 Presidential Election, socialistic ideas are beginning to be on the forefront of political discussion.
Recent polls have shown that socialism, the economic system which advocates the collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods, is becoming more and more popular among younger Americans.
A recent poll done by YouGov.com found that while capitalism is generally favored over socialism, one third of people aged 18-29 prefer socialist ideologies over capitalist ones. In later generations, however, it was found the number of those in favor of socialism decreased and that those in favor of capitalism increased.
Now the question must be asked: why is there a growing trend in the number of young people who prefer socialism over capitalism?
Newtown High School junior Kat Moran feels that age definitely influences how people feel about socialism. “The younger generation is in a lot of trouble,” Moran said. “My dad thinks that socialism and communism are the same thing. He’s 68 years old.”
Newtown High School band director Kurt Eckhardt expressed similar feelings. “I think it has a stigma in this country as being related to communism and that people don’t understand what it is, including me. I don’t have a complete understanding of socialism,” Eckhardt said. “However, there are socialistic programs that seem to really help people. For instance, universal health care, which works really well in most civilized countries. Why can’t we do that here?”
With many disagreements on whether or not President Obama’s Affordable Care Act is a form of socialized medicine or not, feelings of controversy among Americans have propelled different feelings about socialist government programs, as well as different understandings of what socialism is.
The idea that socialism works for the people and capitalism works against them seems to be a growing phenomenon, especially among younger people.
Newtown High School senior Adam Padilla is an example of this. “It [capitalism] basically feeds off the needs of the people to build a profit for the select few, so it’s easy for it to become morally corrupt,” Padilla said.
In 2009, United States Senator (Vermont) Bernie Sanders made his thoughts on big corporations known. “If a financial institution is too big to fail, it is too big to exist,” Sanders said.
Sanders is a proud self-proclaimed socialist, and advocates for free community college, universal health care, a raised minimum wage, lower pharmaceutical fees, and a number of other things that seem to attract younger people, especially those struggling to pay for their college education.
Moran agrees with some of these things. “Community college should be free,” she said.
As the election nears closer and more young people register to vote, a better idea of what they support and what they stand for will be formed. Their views and opinions will only matter, however, if they voice them loud and clear.