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“Gen Zs should be fighting socialism, not accepting it,” said Caroline Downey, a National Review columnist and media personality who has become something of a Gen Z spokeswoman on the right.
Socialism is one of the most “recycled, disastrous ideas in human history” — yet increasing numbers of young Americans are falling for democratic socialism, she said in her speech this month for the Clare Boothe Luce Center for Conservative Women.
Downey cited a recent statistic from the Cato Institute that “62 percent of Americans aged 18 to 29 say they hold a ‘favorable view’ of socialism, and 34 percent say the same of communism.”
“Young people are living in a… post-COVID world of persistently high costs, remote work isolation, and social media-fueled comparison,” the 26-year-old columnist said in her July 10 speech.
Ideas travel quickly online, which Downey said is part of why socialism is so successful among younger Americans.
Financial and psychological pressures from the high cost of living in America and the sluggish job market have created resentment among Gen Z, or those born between roughly 1997 to 2012 and known for coming of age in the digital age.
They’re offered free healthcare and free housing in growing metropolitan areas, which Downey said appeals to them.
What they do not realize, she added, is that “free” entails borrowed money from the government that will only cause economic inflation and an increase in national debt.
“As inheritors of the nation” Gen Z needs to be engaged and informed by adapting to the rapidly changing world, she said, adding they are a creative and entrepreneurial generation, and both are qualities that can work in their favor.
Downey told the women in her audience to “unplug” and use technology responsibly. She also promoted the family and advised them to save money and exercise economic freedom.
“Socialism promises equality, but everywhere it’s been tried delivers equality of misery,” she said.
Part of the problem is historical events, such as Venezuela’s collapse, China’s Cultural Revolution, and the fall of the Berlin Wall, are forgotten or rebranded by progressive educators, “a revisionist history happening in schools across America.”
“Capitalism isn’t perfect,” she said, “but with reforms rooted in freedom, it offers the only path to human flourishing.”
Lucy Evich, a freshman at Christendom College and an event attendee, said she appreciated the lessons offered in the talk.
“I think it’s good to constantly learn about other countries and grow appreciation for where you live and the freedom we have,” she told The College Fix.
MORE: Socialism bankrupted her family in Venezuela. Now, she’s warning American students.
