08/30/2026
Why Are Americans Choosing Socialism?
Why are more Americans, particularly younger Americans, becoming open to socialism?
There are at least two questions Republicans should be willing to confront.
First, what are we teaching?
Second, are we delivering an economy in which young Americans can actually afford the American dream?
For generations, American public education has increasingly separated civic life from religious belief. In 1962, the Supreme Court struck down state-sponsored prayer in public schools; in 1963, it struck down school-sponsored Bible reading. The concern raised by thinkers such as founding father Benjamin Rush was that early education shapes the moral framework through which future citizens understand freedom, responsibility and government.
Rush argued that the Bible provided essential moral instruction and that early impressions could profoundly influence adulthood. At the same time, Republicans cannot simply tell young people to believe in capitalism while ignoring whether we are delivering true free-market opportunity and results.
If government becomes the answer to every economic problem, people will increasingly look to government to provide what they cannot afford themselves. Republicans therefore face a dual challenge: restore civic education rooted in America's constitutional traditions while actually delivering affordability through fiscal discipline, less regulation, limited government and constitutional governance.
The choice is ultimately about whether the next generation believes freedom can work. If we want Americans to reject collectivism, we must give them both a reason to believe in freedom and an opportunity to prosper under it.