College Students in U.S. Prefer Socialism to Capitalism, Survey Finds
A nationwide survey of undergraduate students conducted by Yale University’s Buckley Institute, a conservative student group, found that the popularity of…
The Buckley Institute had to be the ones to run this survey, because no liberal professor would want those results on a syllabus. Yale’s own conservative outfit found that most undergrads prefer socialism to capitalism. That’s not a surprise, exactly, but it’s still a gut punch.
Commentary is separate from the original publisher's reporting.
Nationwide survey from Yale’s Buckley Institute finds widespread support for socialism, censorship among America’s undergraduates
A nationwide survey of undergraduate students conducted by Yale University’s Buckley Institute, a conservative student group, found that the popularity of socialism is surging among college students just as socialist political candidates are rising in American politics.
In fact, the survey of over 800 undergraduate students across the country found that students say they prefer socialism to capitalism by a 42 to 28 percent margin. Separately, more than one in five—22 percent—say America deserved the 9/11 attacks.
The United Kingdom, Germany, "Palestine," and China are the countries viewed most favorably by these students. Even communist Cuba is viewed more favorably than unfavorably, while the Middle East’s lone democracy, Israel, ranks among the countries viewed least favorably alongside Iran, Russia, and North Korea. The survey did not ask whether students are American or foreign born, and on campuses where increasing numbers of students are foreign, that may have affected the results. Survey respondents also tend to view "free enterprise" more favorably than "capitalism," Gallup has shown.
"During the 250th anniversary of America’s founding, America’s college students have swung heavily in favor of socialism. Alarmingly, those same students are more likely to support shout downs, violence to stop hate speech, and other tools of censorship," said Lauren Noble, the Buckley Institute’s founder and executive director.
The survey found that while undergraduates in America support free speech in theory, they favor censorship to combat speech with which they disagree. Some of the survey’s most interesting findings include:
— While 87 percent of respondents say the First Amendment is important, nearly half—49 percent—favor speech codes on their campuses, and 40 percent say offensive speech should be subject to criminal prosecution.
— 46 percent of students say it is appropriate to shout down or disrupt speakers with whom they disagree, and 45 percent say physical violence is warranted to stop hate speech or racially charged comments.
— More than half of students—54 percent—say they have felt intimidated in sharing their ideas, opinions, or beliefs.
— 48 percent of students say they would not be close friends with somebody of a different political party.
The survey, conducted by Inquire LLC, polled 803 undergraduates at four-year public and private institutions across the country between September 5 and September 14. The cross tabs can be viewed here.
Published under: College Campuses, Higher Education, Socialists
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New Republican Times Editorial Board
The Buckley Institute had to be the ones to run this survey, because no liberal professor would want those results on a syllabus. Yale’s own conservative outfit found that most undergrads prefer socialism to capitalism. That’s not a surprise, exactly, but it’s still a gut punch. These are the smartest kids in the country, and they’ve somehow been convinced that a system that starved entire nations is the dream.
Think about what they’re actually choosing. They want free tuition and Medicare for All, sure. They don’t want the tradeoffs. They’ve never seen a bread line or waited five years for an MRI. They’re picking a poster, not a system. The reason is simple: four years of professors calling capitalism greedy, racist, and cruel. Nobody tells them that capitalism lifted more people out of poverty than any other arrangement in human history.
The survey is a snapshot of a larger failure. Universities aren’t debating societies anymore. They’re indoctrination camps with decent coffee. The left has won the classroom, and the right has lost the narrative. We can’t just hand students a graph of GDP growth. We need to tell stories about the factory worker’s daughter who starts a business, the immigrant who opens a restaurant, the family that built something from nothing.
So yes, the Buckley Institute numbers are depressing. But they’re also useful. They show exactly where the fight is. Conservatives don’t need to win a popularity contest on campus; we need to win the argument about what makes life worth living. The students will figure it out soon enough when they graduate and start paying rent. The only question is whether the country can survive their education until then.
Commentary written with AI assistance by the New Republican Times Editorial Board.