Gen Z Favors Socialism Over Capitalism, Cato Survey Finds

Gen Z: Socialism Yes, Capitalism No, According to the Cato Institute

Generation Z, the cohort of 18- to 29-year-olds who have lived through the 2008 crisis, the pandemic, and structural precariousness, has delivered a troubling verdict for defenders of the current model: they prefer socialism to capitalism. This is reflected in a national survey by the Cato Institute published on July 4, 2026, in which young people give a favorable rating to socialism above capitalism, while communism nearly ties with the latter.

The poll reveals a clear generational gap: from age 30 onward, preference for capitalism skyrockets and socialism loses steam. Among 18- to 29-year-olds, however, capitalism is relegated to third place in their minds, something unthinkable two decades ago. What has changed? Job precariousness, housing prices, and the climate crisis have created a breeding ground where the narrative of the "system that works" no longer flies. Ironically, as some critical voices point out, this generation is a "defective product of capitalism": raised in material abundance, but also in uncertainty, they idealize systems they have never known.

Reactions have been swift. While some see in these data an existential threat, others interpret them as a simple youthful outburst that will correct itself with age. However, the magnitude of the difference—and the fact that communism nearly equals capitalism in prestige—suggests that something is shifting in the ideological substratum.

With this gap, the question that floats is whether youthful preferences will fade with mortgages and children, or whether we are facing a structural change in values that will transform economic policy in the coming decades.