The change in how we perceive socialism

Jeffrey Anvari-Clark, The Conversation  - I’m a social work professor who studies how people manage their money and their well-being….

 The way Americans perceive socialism is apparently undergoing such a transition. Whereas before, socialism has largely had a negative stigma associated with it, many Democrats and independent voters are now increasingly viewing socialism as a system with a strong safety net and a way of bringing harms of the free market under control.

The word is now being viewed more positively than it used to, according to pollsters – especially among Democrats. It is associated with being able to afford life’s necessities and the kind of strong economic rights found in Norway and other Scandinavian countries.

Given how poorly many Americans are faring under capitalism, I think that the growing openness to democratic socialist candidates makes sense.

The number of people who have to work multiple jobs to make ends meet reached 9.4 million in November 2025, the highest level since the Bureau of Labor Statistics started tracking that indicator in 1994. Meanwhile, support for capitalism fell to 54% in 2025, from 60% four years earlier.

Maybe that has something to do with the fact that U.S. median wages are not rising fast enough to keep up with the increase in the cost of living; or that Americans are mainly seeing the promises of capitalism delivered to their nation’s richest people.

Meanwhile, most workers find themselves on the hook to fund more of their own retirement than their parents did and to pay more for their healthcare and insurance coverage, hindering their efforts to save for retirement. Many service sector workers find that they only get shifts when an algorithm says their labor is required – leaving their schedules and earnings unpredictable.

For those who have joined the workforce since the Great Recession, an economic downturn that lasted from late 2007 until mid-2009, financial insecurity has largely defined their economic experiences. Millions of American families are left needing to pay more and more to cover their bills, and with less disposable income.