The majority of American voters reject socialism and its most popular proponent, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., according to a recent Heartland Institute/Rasmussen Poll.
In the poll, conducted Dec. 6-7, likely voters were asked, "Which is better — a free-market economic system or socialism?" Seventy-five percent said a free-market economic system, while only 11% chose socialism.
The pollsters noted that about one in five respondents aged 18 to 39 chose socialism, which was about the same who gave that response a year earlier. But support for a "free market" rose among that group. In 2019, 59% of young voters backed "free market," while 68% did in 2020.
When asked what their opinion is of Ocasio-Cortez, one of the most popular faces of socialism in the United States, 37% answered either very or somewhat unfavorable, while 58% said somewhat or very unfavorable.
President-elect Joe Biden, who ran on a more centrist platform, fared better, with 51% giving him a somewhat or very favorable view. Forty-seven percent said they had a somewhat or very unfavorable opinion of the incoming president.
"Despite the increased calls for socialism by many on the far left, the vast majority of likely voters believe that the United States should embrace a free-market economy," Chris Talgo, editor and research fellow at The Heartland Institute, said of the survey.
"Only a sliver of likely voters think that the United States should abandon the free-market capitalistic policies that are responsible for making the United States the wealthiest nation in world history," he continued. "Despite the countless calls for more socialism among elites in media and Hollywood, Americans aren’t interested in adopting the same socialist policies that have led to mass poverty wherever they have been tried."
The survey has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence.
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