Poll: Majority of Young Adults Have Negative View of Capitalism

The majority of young adults (Gen Z), ages 18-24, in the United States have a negative view of capitalism, according to an Axios and Momentive poll.

Poll findings show that 54 percent of young adults have a negative view of capitalism. In comparison, only 42 percent of Gen Z respondents said they have a positive view of capitalism.

Only 49 percent of the respondents between 18 to 34 said they have a positive view of capitalism. This is compared to 46 percent who view it negatively.

Overall, 57 percent of Americans said they had a positive view of capitalism, and 36 percent said that they had a negative view.

The poll noted that the perceptions of young adults have rapidly changed. When the respondents were divided by party affiliation, the Republican and Republican-leaning 18-34-year-olds said only 66 percent of them support capitalism. This number is down from 2019, when 81 percent of the same group said they support capitalism.

Additionally, when asked about the bigger problem in this country, 58 percent said it is the “unfairness in the economic system that favors the wealthy,” and 36 percent said it is the “over-regulation of the free market that interferes with growth and prosperity.”

The Axios and Momentive poll was conducted through SurveyMonkey online between June 11 to 15. The online poll interviewed a national sample size of 2,309 adults.

The poll data was weighted for age, race, sex, education, and geography by using the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey to reflect the United States’ demographic composition.