Fortune - Is capitalism a dirty word now?

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March 26, 2021

How do young people feel about capitalism versus socialism?

The political and economic beliefs of Americans are evolving between generations. Case in point: Many young Americans such as Gen Z are viewing capitalism as an economic system less favorably.

At least that's what we found. To see where Americans stand on these sentiments, Fortune teamed up with SurveyMonkey to poll 2,000 adults in the U.S. between March 11 and 15. While the meaning of "capitalism" and "socialism" vary by person, it's important for businesses to understand how employees and customers perceive such terms.

So has capitalism actually become a taboo subject? Read on to find out.

The numbers to know 

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The big picture

A few deeper takeaways

Among baby boomers, 73% hold a positive view of capitalism. That compares to 62% of Gen Xers and 56% of millennials.  

Among Gen Zers, we found that 57% hold a positive view of capitalism. That's a stark contrast from what the stereotype of the generation's progressive political beliefs would imply. 

The majority of baby boomers (62%) and Gen Xers (58%) hold negative views of socialism.

That's not the case for young adults. Among millennials, 41% view socialism negatively, but 56% view it positively. Same with Gen Zers: 40% view socialism negatively, but 58% view it positively. 

The big question for the future of business: Are these diverging views a result of age (in other words, Gen Zers and millennials will change their views over time) or a signal of a true generational shift in economic thinking? 

While young Americans hold more favorable views of socialism than their older peers, they still prefer capitalism as a whole. On a net basis, Gen Z (+12 percentage points), millennials (+3 points), Gen X (+31 points), and baby boomers (+41 points) all prefer capitalism when the system is pitted against socialism. 

Republicans who favor capitalism outnumber GOPers who favor socialism by a staggering 11 to 1 ratio. 

Independent voters prefer capitalism to socialism by a 2 to 1 ratio. Meanwhile, Democrats who favor socialism slightly outnumber Democrats who favor capitalism (36% versus 30%).

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