More Americans than ever now have a positive view of socialism, new poll says
More Americans than ever view socialism positively, according to a Gallup poll released Wednesday, as 43% view it positively for the first time since 2010.
Gallup asked respondents if they have a positive or negative image of socialism, capitalism, free enterprise, big business and small business in the poll conducted in August. Fifty-five percent of Americans view capitalism positively.
The poll's findings show a significant drop in how Americans view big business, which is down 14 points from 2010, free enterprise down 9 points and capitalism down 6 points. Small business is the only category that hasn't lost any support.
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The increase in socialism’s positive rating through 2025 was largely due to the views of Democrats, rising from 50% in 2010 to 66% last year. However, this year's increase is due to political independents, according to Gallup, whose positive rating jumped from 37% in 2025 to 45%.
This year's findings show 65% of Democrats view socialism positively, compared with 14% of Republicans.
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Lucas Holtz, a senior political advisor at Third Way, told Fox News Digital in a statement, "The Gallup poll isn't evidence of Americans embracing socialism—it's evidence that Americans are rejecting the economic status quo. When we look a single layer beneath to ask whether voters support socialist policies, support completely collapses."
"Working-class Americans are pissed about the costs of everyday life and the economy, but it's off base to think that a majority of Democrats and independents would back wholesale DSA socialism," Holtz continued.
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Holtz pointed to a Third Way poll that found Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents prefer "capitalism with guardrails" over socialism by 24 points.
"Echelon Insights also ran a poll and found that socialism is 33 points underwater with independents. And they found that a whole lot of DSA-aligned policies would make voters less likely to back a candidate. Abolishing police and prisons: 73% less likely (77% among independents). Ending all immigration detention and deportations: 43% less likely (42% among independents). Government ownership of major transportation and energy infrastructure: 39% less likely (44% less likely among independents)," Holtz said.
The Gallup poll found that views of the economic systems differed by age group.
Adults aged 18 to 34 view socialism more positively than capitalism, 57% vs. 43%, and those aged 55 and older view capitalism more positively than socialism, 65% vs. 34%.
Adults ages 35 to 54, however, rate socialism and capitalism about the same.
A professor of political science at Northeastern University, Costas Panagopoulos, told Fox News Digital, "For Independents, whose views are driven least by partisan attachments, perceptions about socialism are gaining in favorability in part because they feel betrayed, overlooked or neglected by modern American capitalism."
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Gallup's summary of its poll read, "Capitalism, free enterprise and especially big business are viewed less positively than they once were, while socialism has gained ground. Those changes have been most pronounced among Democrats and younger adults, but this year's uptick in socialism's appeal reflects a novel shift among independents."
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The poll comes amid a rise in socialist political candidates across the country, some of whom have won primary elections.
After being sworn into office this year, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist himself, also helped propel three congressional candidates, Brad Lander, Claire Valdez and Darializa Avila Chevalier, to victory in New York's primary in June.