Despite the prominence of socialist politicians like Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., many Americans are mixed up about what socialism means, a new poll shows.
According to The Hill/HarrisX survey posted Friday, 20% of respondents said they’re not sure what socialism is, while 13% came up with the academic description of it as government ownership of some parts of the economy.
Here are other findings from the poll:
- 28% said they believed socialism was fulfilling basic needs like healthcare, housing, and a job to everyone; 5% believed it meant ending poverty; 22% said they viewed socialism as a system lacking in civil liberties and political freedoms; 7% associated it with abolishing all private property.
- 44% of voters 34 and younger said socialism was about providing basic needs and ending poverty; 27% of respondents 65 and older described it that way.
- 27% of black voters saying they were not sure what socialism was, 22% of Hispanic voters also were uncertain as were 18% of white voters.
According to The Hill, the big battle for 2020 between the two parties about socialism will be for independent voters, who were evenly split, with 31% saying socialism is ending private property and limiting civil liberties, and 28% defining it as providing basic needs and ending poverty.
The poll's margin of error was plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
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