Americans are embracing socialism at record levels as popularity tops 40% for first time since 2010: poll

A record number of Americans now have a positive view of socialism — with almost half admitting they embrace the far-left ideology, according to an eye-opening survey.Forty-three percent of Americans said they feel optimistic about socialism, a new Gallup poll released Wednesday revealed.It marks the first time this figure has topped 40% in Gallup’s trend since 2010.At the same time, economic concepts like free enterprise, big business and capitalism have slipped in public favorability.The surge in popularity was driven, surprisingly, by independents, with 45% of this group reporting a positive view of socialism — up from 37% last year.

Independents’ view of big business, meanwhile, dipped to a new low of 32% — meaning independents now prefer socialism to big business.However, small business, capitalism and free enterprise are still viewed more positively.The increase in optimism for the far-left philosophy was also driven in large part by a sharp uptick among Democrats, who say they have a positive view of socialism.The results in the Gallup poll show two-thirds (66%) of progressives were in favor, up from 50% in 2010.Democrats have been rating socialism more positively than capitalism since 2016, and it’s now tied with free enterprise at 65%.Dems favorable rating of capitalism slid 7 points in just the past year, from 42% in 2025 to just 35% today, according to the survey.Republicans, meanwhile, have stayed comparatively consistent, with large majorities favoring small business, free enterprise and capitalism positively but just 14% expressing a positive view of socialism.Big business favorability among Republicans has stirred somewhat over the last 16 years, now standing at 62%.The differences were starker when looking at demographic traits of survey respondents.Younger Americans were far more likely to have a positive view of socialism, particularly when compared with capitalism.

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