Another day, another survey showing increased support among the youth for totalitarian ideas.
According to a new survey from the Washington, D.C., nonprofit Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, America’s younger generation is becoming more receptive to the destructive ideas of socialism and its tyrannical cousin, communism.
A poll run by YouGov, a British market research firm, found that only one out of two millennials — aged 23 to 38 — supporting capitalism. On the other hand, 36 percent of millennials polled shockingly stated that they approve of communism.
“The historical amnesia about the dangers of communism and socialism is on full display in this year’s report,” remarked Marion Smith, executive director of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, in a statement on Monday. “When we don’t educate our youngest generations about the historical truth of 100 million victims murdered at the hands of communist regimes over the past century, we shouldn’t be surprised at their willingness to embrace Marxist ideas.”
Some other shocking revelations in this report include that 22 percent of millennials believe that “society would be better if all private property was abolished,” and 45 percent of Generation Z members and millennials believe that “all higher education should be free.”
It is alarming that even after a genocidal 20th century of socialist experiments, people still view the ideology in such a glowing manner. Massive socialization via public schools, media, and general culture has progressively created a broader acceptance of the ideas, and it is now potentially turning into a solid voting block for generations to come.
The U.S. will likely not descend down the same path of destruction like previous socialist governments. Nevertheless, these changing views will reinforce existing trends of government growth, which include the continued expansion of the managerial state, a stronger surveillance state, state-dominated education, and more centralized power in Washington, D.C.
Politics doesn’t just take place in the voting booth, it’s present at city halls, churches, schools, civic organizations, businesses, and pop culture. The overtly political nature of everyday life is indeed concerning but those are the cards we’ve been dealt with.
If we want to reverse this trend of the growing radicalization of the youth, free-market advocates and their allies will need to confront the spread of these ideas wherever they are being disseminated. Complaining is easy, but taking action is a different matter. We can no longer afford to lament the state of the youth if we want to stop the growing popularity of collectivism.
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