Socialism and communism are up among younger voters in the wake of Sen. Bernie Sanders’ primary fight with Hillary Rodham Clinton, though the millennial generation seems to know little history of the deadly communist legacy, according to a new survey.
Three stunning examples from the YouGov poll done for the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation:
— Just 18 percent of millennials know who Russian President Vladimir Putin, a former KGB agent, is. More now about Argentine Marxist Ernesto “Che” Guevara.
— Approximately one in four Americans (26 percent) and one-third of millennials (32 percent) believe more people were killed under George W. Bush than Soviet leader Joseph Stalin.
— More millennials prefer the words of “Communist Manifesto” author Karl Marx over the Bible.
“One of the concerns the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation has had since its establishment is that an emerging generation of Americans have little understanding of the collectivist system and its dark history,” said Marion Smith, executive director of the organization which provided Secrets with an advance copy of the survey.
“Unfortunately,” adds Smith, “this report, which we intend to release on an annual basis, confirms this worrisome impression.”
The survey showed both a lack of understanding of what occurred under Marxist and communist regimes in Asia and Russia, and a growing acceptance of socialist and Soviet viewpoints among those who did not grow up during the Cold War.
It showed growing support for socialism and communism and a drop in confidence in capitalism among younger voters, part of what the group dubbed the “Bernie Sanders bounce.”
The foundation added, “When considered alongside the broad support among millennials for Bernie Sanders and his ideals – the poll, for example, found more support for quotes of Sanders than Milton Friedman and the Bible – socialism has growing support in America. Fewer younger Americans, in turn, had a favorable view of capitalism and its tenets versus their older counterparts. The report also found a substantial gap in basic knowledge about Communism and its history, with more glaring knowledge gaps especially among millennials.
The key findings:
— Nearly 7 in 10 (68%) of all Americans – and nearly 6 in 10 (59%) of Generation Z (ages 16-20) falsely believe that more people were killed under Hitler than Stalin.
— A vast majority (75%) underestimate the number of people killed by communist regimes (more than 100 million).
— Many millennials are unfamiliar with communist leaders – Zedong: 42%; Guevara: 40%; Stalin: 18%; Lenin: 33%; Putin 18%.
— Roughly half of millennials (55%) believe communism was and still is a problem – compared with 80% of Baby Boomers and 91% of elderly Americans.
— While 57% of all Americans have a “very unfavorable” view of communism, that view is shared by just 37% of millennials and 38% of Generation Z.
— Nearly half of Generation Z (45%) say they would vote for a socialist; 1 in 5 (21%) say they would vote for a communist.
— A majority of millennials – 53% — believe America’s economic system works against them.
— 4 in 10 Americans call for a “complete change” of America’s economic system to ensure highest earners pay their fair share.
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected]
