A new CBS News poll has found that most Americans still view capitalism more favorably than socialism, but Democrats now buck that trend, rating socialism more positively than the free market system, in a sign of how economic anxiety is reshaping the party's base heading into the midterms.
The CBS News/YouGov survey, conducted with 2,287 U.S. adults between August 12 and 14, 2026, found that most Americans consider a free market system a good thing and are net-negative on socialism overall. Yet a majority also say it is now harder to buy a house, raise a family or feel financially secure than it was for the previous generation, and most describe the current economic system as unfair when it comes to getting ahead. Younger respondents were especially likely to say opportunities have narrowed, according to CBS News.
That unease is playing out differently inside each party. Among Democrats, socialism draws a more favorable impression than capitalism, according to CBS News, with support strongest among college-educated Democrats, younger Democrats and white Democrats compared with other groups within the party. Democrats in this camp are also more likely to perceive a widening gap between the richest Americans and the middle class, and less likely to call their own party effective. Notably, CBS News found these Democrats believe socialism would improve their personal finances while capitalism would make things worse for them.
The specific label democratic socialist was viewed positively by about half of Democrats, particularly younger and more liberal ones, while the rest were mostly neutral rather than hostile toward the term, the poll found. Democrats were roughly split on whether their party is as progressive as they want it to be, with the half who say it isn't progressive enough tending to hold more favorable views of socialism and less confidence that the party shares their views on economic issues.
When CBS News asked Americans to define socialism in their own words, the most common answers referenced government control or government ownership, an association more frequently made by Republicans and independents. Democrats, by contrast, more often described socialism in terms of equality, fairness and public services. The poll also found the Democratic Party is widely seen as weak and not especially effective, a judgment shared even by more than a third of Democrats themselves, mainly those who feel the party isn't progressive enough. Republicans fared no better on effectiveness and were more often described as extreme, according to the survey. Majorities across parties said they would be open to government price controls, and most Americans said having more young people and moderates in office would improve politics, a sentiment especially strong among Democrats.
The CBS News findings align with a separate poll released by CNBC in partnership with Generation Lab, a research firm focused on Americans aged 18 to 34. That survey, which polled 1,088 people and carried a margin of error of 2.97 percentage points, found 46 percent of young adults hold a favorable or very favorable view of democratic socialism, compared with just 23 percent who view it unfavorably. The CNBC poll was conducted as democratic socialist candidates gained traction in state primaries across New York, New Jersey, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Colorado, and after a democratic socialist won a mayoral primary in Washington, D.C., earlier this year. In Wisconsin, democratic socialist Francesca Hong narrowly lost her gubernatorial primary to Milwaukee County executive David Crowley this week, telling supporters, according to CNBC, that her campaign had built something that would change politics.
Underlying both polls is deep pessimism about the economy among young Americans. Nearly 80 percent of respondents in the CNBC Generation Lab survey held a negative view of the national economy, with 45 percent calling it bad, 27 percent really bad, and 6 percent saying it couldn't be worse, while only a combined 5 percent described conditions as great or as good as they could be. Half of those surveyed expect the economy to worsen, versus 22 percent who expect improvement. Asked about the biggest strains on their finances, 45 percent pointed to housing and 39 percent cited difficulty finding secure, well-paying work, with student loans, credit card debt and health care also ranking high, CNBC reported. As a result, nearly half said they've postponed vacations, roughly a third have delayed buying a car or a home, and 28 percent have gone without health care.
The CNBC poll also captured young Americans' skepticism toward the tech industry shaping their economic future. Forty-five percent said they believe artificial intelligence will hurt their careers, while only 10 percent think it will help. Majorities said they distrust nearly every major AI executive named in the survey, from Palantir's Alex Karp, distrusted by 81 percent, to Microsoft's Satya Nadella, who scored best but was still distrusted by 65 percent. Sixty percent said data center construction tied to AI should be slowed rather than accelerated.
Fox News offered a different lens on the same trend. Fox News analyst Kat Timpf, appearing on Fox & Friends, argued that soaring housing prices and a high cost of living are shutting young people out of homeownership and pushing them toward socialism, and cautioned that free-market advocates need to acknowledge those economic struggles with real solutions rather than dismissing younger Americans as unmotivated.
Taken together, the polling from CBS News and CNBC suggests the divide over socialism versus capitalism is less about ideology in the abstract and more about lived financial strain. As CBS News noted, Democrats who feel the system has been unfair to them are the ones most drawn to socialism, while Republicans and independents remain firmly aligned with capitalism and free markets even as they, too, acknowledge the economy has grown less forgiving for the next generation.
