In the March 2025 survey, Cato/YouGov asked a national sample of 2,000 Americans aged 18 and older about US fiscal policy, including the following: ‘Do you have a favorable or unfavorable view of Socialism?’ and ‘Do you have a favorable or unfavorable view of communism?
A total of 43% said they have a ‘favorable’ view of socialism, and for those aged 18–29, 62% said favorable. For communism, a total of 14% said they have a favorable view; however, in the 18–29 group, 34% said favorable. That’s about 18 million people. (The findings are estimates: there are an estimated 52 million Americans aged 18–29, so 34% is 17.68 million; 62% of that age group is roughly 32 million people.)
As for my opinion on the Soviet Union, it was enormously progressive. Women gained the right to vote ahead of most western countries. Life expectancy doubled, from the 30s to 70s. Famine was ended. Housing cost approximately 5% of people’s incomes. Working hours reduced, while wages rose. Literacy rates tripled, from the 30s to 99.9%. Workers for the first time in history truly established a state for themselves, by themselves.
Life behind the iron curtain was not as rosy as you make it out to be. I don’t know what your intentions are to argue in favor of it, but I and my family have living memories of how awful it was. I don’t need to hear from an armchair internet historian to make it out for something it wasn’t.
I’m not necessarily saying that communism is bad, but the Soviet Union is not something any of the former Soviet states, Russia included, should aspire to return to.
Are you familiar with how statistics work? Throw the US population into this sample size calculator. 421 is enough for around 95% confidence. Kinda like how doubling every number starting from 1 rapidly grows beyond expectation after only a couple dozen iterations, sample sizes do not need to be anywhere close to the population size to accurately predict within a 5% degree of confidence.
As for the Soviet Union, it doesn’t really matter what you have to say about it. Regardless of your own, individual experiences, the collective experiences of the soviet peoples speak the opposite. The overwhelming majority of post-soviet citizens regret the fall of socialism, and in countries like Russia, more people support socialism than capitalism.
What I’m trying to say is that ultimately, it’s the people that make history, and the people of Russia understand the need for socialism. It won’t be the Soviet Union, that time is over. But it will be similar in many ways, and that’s a great thing.
The issue isn’t the sample size, but the representative audience.
I would even go further than calling it nostalgia. After the fall of the iron curtain, life was exceedingly difficult for many in the former Soviet states. Record unemployment, skyrocketing inflation, yes. That can be true while it can also be true that the Soviet Union wasn’t the socialist utopia you had described previously.
Regarding the stats on the rise of communist sympathies among younger people, again, this is from a right-wing institute that specifically does not want people to identify as communist. It’s McCarthyism.
As for calling the Soviet Union a “utopia,” I never did. I simply stated facts about the Soviet Union. For example, life expectancy:
All of what I said can be rather easily verified. Is it a “complete” picture? No. I explained why I support the Soviet Union, and those were some of the many.
but I and my family have living memories of how awful it was. I don’t need to hear from an armchair internet historian to make it out for something it wasn’t.
you dummy, you suddenly draw your grandfather into this and make it all about that when I was still asking you about why the fuck you consider the USSR to be so horrible for you and your family. Are you going to answer that?
It’s certainly true, according to a poll by Cato Institute:
As for my opinion on the Soviet Union, it was enormously progressive. Women gained the right to vote ahead of most western countries. Life expectancy doubled, from the 30s to 70s. Famine was ended. Housing cost approximately 5% of people’s incomes. Working hours reduced, while wages rose. Literacy rates tripled, from the 30s to 99.9%. Workers for the first time in history truly established a state for themselves, by themselves.
It’s nice that the Cato Institute found 421 people in support of their poll. Can we move on from this nonsense statistic?
Life behind the iron curtain was not as rosy as you make it out to be. I don’t know what your intentions are to argue in favor of it, but I and my family have living memories of how awful it was. I don’t need to hear from an armchair internet historian to make it out for something it wasn’t.
I’m not necessarily saying that communism is bad, but the Soviet Union is not something any of the former Soviet states, Russia included, should aspire to return to.
Are you familiar with how statistics work? Throw the US population into this sample size calculator. 421 is enough for around 95% confidence. Kinda like how doubling every number starting from 1 rapidly grows beyond expectation after only a couple dozen iterations, sample sizes do not need to be anywhere close to the population size to accurately predict within a 5% degree of confidence.
As for the Soviet Union, it doesn’t really matter what you have to say about it. Regardless of your own, individual experiences, the collective experiences of the soviet peoples speak the opposite. The overwhelming majority of post-soviet citizens regret the fall of socialism, and in countries like Russia, more people support socialism than capitalism.
What I’m trying to say is that ultimately, it’s the people that make history, and the people of Russia understand the need for socialism. It won’t be the Soviet Union, that time is over. But it will be similar in many ways, and that’s a great thing.
The issue isn’t the sample size, but the representative audience.
I would even go further than calling it nostalgia. After the fall of the iron curtain, life was exceedingly difficult for many in the former Soviet states. Record unemployment, skyrocketing inflation, yes. That can be true while it can also be true that the Soviet Union wasn’t the socialist utopia you had described previously.
So you agree with them, that life under socialism was materially better than life under capitalism 👍
Neither we nor the Soviets/ex-Soviets ever claimed that socialism or communism was or ever will be utopian, only that they are better than capitalism.
Regarding the stats on the rise of communist sympathies among younger people, again, this is from a right-wing institute that specifically does not want people to identify as communist. It’s McCarthyism.
As for calling the Soviet Union a “utopia,” I never did. I simply stated facts about the Soviet Union. For example, life expectancy:
All of what I said can be rather easily verified. Is it a “complete” picture? No. I explained why I support the Soviet Union, and those were some of the many.
do explain!
I don’t think doxxing myself is worth me telling you anecdotes that you have no genuine interest in hearing. There are plenty of stories to be found.
lol coward
either a liar or a family with fascist history
Thanks for that. My uncle lost his life harboring Jews during the war and in my genealogy I’ve found 130 family members in my CC7 that were murdered.
Please don’t resort to insults, because there’s a human fucking being on the other side of your keyboard.
This does not explain why the USSR was so awful, that sounds like Nazis that did that not the Soviets.
You literally have memories of it, your family does too, correct? So explain why the USSR was so horrible according to you.
You call my dead family members fascists and don’t have the common fucking courtesy to apologize. Go to hell.
If you give a shit, go watch a documentary.
We all have. They all say you’re full of shit lol. Explain your dumb shit history or shut the fuck up about it.
you dummy, you suddenly draw your grandfather into this and make it all about that when I was still asking you about why the fuck you consider the USSR to be so horrible for you and your family. Are you going to answer that?