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.
According to the poll, 57% of American adults aged 18-34 view socialism more positively than capitalism, versus 43% who said the opposite — a 14% favorability gap.
Meanwhile, those aged 55 and up said they view capitalism more positively than socialism by a margin of 65% to 34% — a 31% differential.
Adults aged 35 to 54 view both socialism and capitalism about the same, according to Gallup.
Men expressed a more positive opinion about capitalism than socialism, 66% to 35%, respectively — while women said the opposite, with 49% approving of socialism compared to 45% for capitalism.
Perhaps not surprisingly, upper-income Americans earning $100,000 or more in annual household income were more positive toward free enterprise and capitalism compared to households earning less than $50,000.
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