The Practical Patriot

Discussions on Socialism – Part I

Socialism just posted its best number in a Gallup series that goes back to 2010. In a survey taken August 3–24, 2026, 43 percent of Americans said they hold a positive view of it. That is the first time the figure has cleared 39 percent. Capitalism still leads, at 55 percent. Free enterprise, which is the same family of ideas under a plainer name, leads by more, at 77 percent. Small business is where it has been all along, at 95 percent.

Gallup has asked this set of questions at intervals since 2010: do you have a positive view of socialism, capitalism, free enterprise, big business, and small business? The August 3–24, 2026 survey is the one that moved socialism over a line it had not crossed. Forty-three percent positive. The 2010 figure was 36 percent. The 2025 figure was 39.

The other four results keep the 43 from being read as a verdict. Capitalism held at 55 percent, a point above 2025 and six points under the 61 percent of 2010. Free enterprise drew 77 percent, down from 86 percent in 2010 and still far ahead of either contested word. Small business was unchanged at 95 percent. Big business fell to 35 percent, from 49 percent in 2010. Socialism has passed big business. It has not passed capitalism, and it is not close to free enterprise or the shop on the corner.

Age is where the average comes apart. Adults 18 to 34 viewed socialism positively at 57 percent and capitalism at 43. Adults 55 and older reversed it, 65 percent for capitalism and 34 for socialism. Ages 35 to 54 sat between them, 45 and 50. Free enterprise still led inside the youngest group, at 69 percent, against 85 percent among those 55 and older. The young are not done with markets. They are cooler toward the word capitalism than their parents, and warmer toward the word socialism.

Party sorts it harder than age. Democrats gave socialism 65 percent and capitalism 35. Republicans gave socialism 14 and capitalism 75. Independents were the movers this year: 45 percent positive on socialism, up from 37 a year earlier, with capitalism still ahead at 56. Even among Democrats, free enterprise held at 65 percent and small business at 93. A party can cool on one word and still like enterprises that are free and small.

Two smaller cuts belong in the same picture. Women viewed socialism more positively than men, 49 percent to 35, and capitalism less so, 45 to 66. Households under $50,000 were evenly split on the two words, 47 percent each. Households at $100,000 and above favored capitalism, 65 to 40.

A sharper question gets a sharper no. An ongoing icitizen survey, preliminary when released, asked about replacing capitalism with socialism. Through September 15 it had 1,564 responses. Overall, 62 percent rejected the swap. Among adults 18 to 34, 48 percent supported it and 52 percent did not. Support was 29 percent among those 50 and older. Democrats supported replacement at 73 percent. Republicans opposed it at 96, independents at 72. This is an online opt-in survey, weighted but not a probability sample, and the topline could still have moved before the October 3 close. Read it as a second sighting of the same split, not as a twin of Gallup.

Organization is not opinion. The Democratic Socialists of America said it passed 120,000 members on July 4, 2026, and called that the largest socialist membership in American history. A count kept from the group’s own rolls put members in good standing near 126,600 at the end of September. A State Policy Network tally put chartered chapters at 204 in 2026, up from 25 in 2016. That is real growth, and it is influence beyond its headcount. It is not a mass party. Something on the order of 127,000 dues-payers is a cadre with a loud season.

One caution belongs beside the percentages. When younger adults are asked what is good about socialism, they tend to talk about equality and access to basic services. Few describe public ownership of industry. A voter can praise the word and mean a larger safety net inside a market economy. The favorability number measures the word. It does not measure a settled program. Treating 43 percent, or 57 percent of the young, as a vote for state ownership would overread the evidence. Treating the national no on replacement as the end of the argument would underread it.

The measured picture is this. Socialism’s positive rating is at a high for the Gallup series, driven by Democrats, independents, and adults under 35. Capitalism still leads nationally. Free enterprise and small business lead by a wider margin. Asked to replace one system with the other, most Americans still decline, including a bare majority of the young in that preliminary cut. The organized group is the largest in its history and still small. Discontent has a number. A new settlement does not.

Sources

• Lydia Saad, “Socialism’s Positive Rating Tops 40% for First Time,” Gallup, September 22, 2026. Fieldwork August 3–24, 2026. Favorability for socialism, capitalism, free enterprise, big business, and small business, including age and party splits. news.gallup.com
• icitizen preliminary results, as reported by the Latin Times, September 18, 2026. Online opt-in survey, not a probability sample; 1,564 responses through September 15, still open at publication. Use as a second sighting, not as a twin of Gallup. latintimes.com
• Democratic Socialists of America, July 4, 2026 membership note: the organization said it had passed 120,000 members. x.com/DemSocialists
• Peter Sterne, count of DSA members in good standing from the organization’s own rolls, end of September 2026, about 126,600. x.com/petersterne
• State Policy Network chapter tally, as reported by the Daily Wire, October 5, 2026: 204 chartered chapters in 2026, up from 25 in 2016. dailywire.com

1. If you hold a positive view of socialism, what do you mean by it: public ownership of major industries, a larger safety net inside a market economy, or something else? If you hold a negative view, which of those are you rejecting?
2. The youngest adults like the word socialism more than the word capitalism, and still give free enterprise 69 percent. Are those two answers in conflict, or are they rejecting a word rather than a system?
3. A positive rating of 43 percent, and a no on replacement from 62 percent. Which number should a serious person weigh more, and why?