A record 43% of Americans now have a positive image of socialism, according to a new Gallup poll, the highest share since the pollster began asking in 2010. But do they know what socialism is? And does it even matter if they’re just rebranding social democracy in Gen Z coding?
The word itself has changed meaning. In 1949, the most common definition Americans gave was government ownership of business. By 2018, it was equality. Then the pandemic gave millions a taste of government help: stimulus checks for most households and free COVID-19 vaccines, ushered in by the great crypto-socialist himself, Donald J. Trump.
