Generation Z is here, and they are just as left-leaning as the millennials who came before them. But new data suggests their openness to socialism and government intervention doesn’t mean all is lost for fans of free markets, and that an appeal to the fairness of a system that truly rewards hard work and ingenuity can still resonate with the youngest voters.
After nearly a decade of sounding the alarm about the progressive drift of the millennial generation (those born between 1981 and 1996), recent weeks have brought a fresh batch of figures about Generation Z (those born after 1996). These numbers tell a similar story. Only three in 10 millennials approve of the job Trump is doing as president, and the same holds for Gen Z. On issues about race, gay rights, climate, and more, Gen Z and the millennials are in near lock-step, holding positions that differ from that of their elders and of the Republican Party.
But perhaps the most troubling figure in the Pew work is around the role of government in society. I’ve long been asked if the biggest problem the Right has with young people is around “the social issues,” and I’m always quick to note that it is also on economic issues where the Right has failed to make its case.
Back in 2010, 53 percent of millennials said they believe “government should do more to solve problems,” while only 42 percent said “government is doing too many things better left to businesses and individuals.” Today, fully 64 percent of millennials and 70 percent of Gen Z say government should do more. Millennials haven’t moved right on this as they’ve aged, and their younger counterparts are coming along with them.
Add socialism to this and things look even more dire. When it comes to socialism, age is very linked to attitudes: A majority of those under the age of 35 have a positive view of socialism, while significant majorities of those over 35 do not. Someone who is 35 or younger is likely to have almost no recollection of the Cold War or the failures of socialism in the 20th century. Modern tragedies such as Venezuela may have not yet been linked with socialism in the minds of the young. (Even three in 10 young Republicans have a positive view of socialism, a far higher percent than among their party elders.)
Young people don’t think socialism is that bad, don’t have much memory of the devastation it has caused, and aren’t convinced that a more active government would be so bad.
[Related: Young people wouldn’t like socialism if they understood its consequences]
But there is hope: capitalism. While views of socialism are heavily tied to age, views of capitalism are not. Gen Z, millennials, Gen X, and the younger baby boomers are all about as likely to have a positive view of capitalism — around six in 10 — and across every age group but the Gen Z crowd, that view is more positive than their view of socialism. In a world where capitalism has dramatically improved the standard of living for people around the globe and has lifted millions out of poverty, the economic system is getting credit where due, even from the young.
But to be sure, young Americans have big, justifiable concerns about whether the current economic system is fair, with 76 percent of those 18-24 and six in 10 of those aged 25-44 saying they are more worried about “unfairness in the economic system that favors the wealthy” versus “over-regulation of the free market that interferes with growth and prosperity.” But their problem is not with the idea of capitalism, per se, but rather the fairness with which our current system operates in practice.
This presents a challenge and an opportunity to those who care about markets, to make the case for a capitalism that fairly rewards hard work and ingenuity. Especially when it comes to reaching the young people who still call themselves Republicans, making this case is key. In the Axios survey, it was Republicans under age 35 who were the most likely group by age and party to say “jobs and the economy” was their No. 1 issue. They were just as likely as their elders to hold capitalism in an overwhelmingly positive view. However, they were much more likely to say they worry about unfairness in the economic system, and six in 10 said they’d be excited to vote for a candidate who wants to “reform the economic system.”
If those on the right decide they want to try to win back the young voters who have left them, they can’t just assume that millennials and Gen Z are with them on economic issues. The opportunity is there, but the case has to be to made to young Americans that capitalism is a better, fairer way to go than the socialism that is championed by their peers on the left side of the political aisle.
