Most "Millennials" seem to be attracted by socialist ideals and seem to be against capitalism and conservatism according to statistics, but why is that?, is it because socialist speech is more in keeping with their philosophy of life?, is it because they have not reasons to be conservative?, or is it simply inexperience and disinformation?
Source
The statistics of Harvard University Institute of Politics in 2016 show that millennials and young people in the United States tend to have a greater affinity for left-wing politics and reject right-wing policies, possibly because today's socialists have somehow "redefined" capitalism, making it look almost entirely negative and aimed at causing inequality and complicating the lives of these young people by "degrading workers rights" and even environmental exploitation, This is something that many socialists have done in the case of Latin America and was seen in the case of Bernie Sanders in the United States, and if we add up the fact that the socialist speech is very much based on feelings and emotions and we even recognize that it is an utopia that sounds nice we have a perfect recipe to move the masses, here is where we realize that due to the lack of experience and information of these young people, in this case millennials, tend to have an unobjective view of political ideologies, in this case left and right, socialism and capitalism.
"The reason that capitalism is good is not just because it is more efficient and creates better products, is because it says that the stuff you create you get to keep, and no one can be the master of your time or labor, no one gets to enslave you because they have needs" - Ben Shapiro Source
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The truth is that these young people, particularly the Americans, do not seem to understand, for the most part, that it was Capitalism that made their country what it is today, creating jobs, generating wealth and even stabilizing their communities, and it is also true that many of them became "adults" after the Cold War, after the dissolution of the largest socialist "stronghold", the USSR, it is not unreasonable to think that many of them have no idea what socialism really is and what it means, for many of them the ideals of the left probably appeal to them because they simply have this innocent mentality that they will help people, especially the most needy in this way... The phrase "If you’re not a liberal when you’re 20, you have no heart; if you’re not a conservative by the time you’re 40, you have no brain." certainly helps in some way to "understand". Many are simply carried away by an emotional and sentimentalist speech instead of doing an objective investigation and looking at the facts. In fact, it is curious, but much of society thinks that life was better 50 years ago, which is absurd, in many countries of the world today life expectancy is better, there is less poverty, more security and better services than before, including the Internet, to name one of the best examples, especially if we talk about the United States where today having a car is something "common", for example and minorities live much better, this is something absolutely undeniable, you can not compare the way a Hispanic lived 50 years ago in the United States with how he lives now, the same would happen with a black and other minorities. This being the case, many countries should be concerned, especially the United States because its reality is totally different from what most people seem to think, and like many other countries they will have to devise a way to prevent the left from continuing to "trap" the young with its cheap populism, for the sake of the younger generations and the world in general.
"Young Americans are moving to the left. On virtually every issue, they support the Democratic party. A Harvard University poll taken in December 2017 found that among likely American voters aged 18-29, fully 65 percent supported Democratic control of Congress. Polls consistently show greater warmth for socialism among millennials than their elders, greater sympathy for regulation, and less interest in protecting core constitutional liberties ranging from freedom of speech to freedom of religion." Source
How can the right-wing change the mind of young people?
There are several ways to achieve this, besides waiting for them to get married, pay taxes and have children of course, let's see, at the beginning the statistics of the Harvard University Institute of Politics indicated that 42% of young Americans said they supported "Capitalism" however only 19% identified themselves as Capitalists, this shows what I have already said, these young people are not clear about the concepts, they see socialism as the model to follow more than anything else as a morally correct model, but it is not, socialism is immoral because it is based on stealing and telling you how much your work is worth, while in capitalism you are the owner of everything you generate, but the big problem with the right wing is that most of the time we don't talk about capitalism in detail, we just say things like "It's the best system. It's the best for the country, look at the statistics" because we think it's obvious, clear and logical, especially when we compare it to a system that has not been successful anywhere. Here we are failing, we have to teach the young people, and although it is still a complex task because the capitalist system is realistic and not based on "dreams" where everything is beautiful as in the case of the socialists. It's a very important thing.
"Conservatives must stop promoting the notion that policy victories translate to political victory. Foolishly hopeful Republican legislators keep repeating the tired nostrum that if they simply pursue solid policy, young Americans will follow—if they pass tax cuts, cut regulation, and build up the military, they’ll stave off the impending generational electoral tsunami." Source
"Small government is good because it allows you to pursue your goals without someone else telling you what to do, and if we can’t agree to leave each other alone, you’ll have to fear my tyranny as much as I fear yours. Big government is evil because it insists that a cadre of bureaucrats knows more about how to run your life than you do." Source
All this and more should be taken into account in order to recover votes, of course, in the case of the United States, the fact that many of these young people have had their first experience with negative capitalism explains many things, but the political right must compete with socialism, it cannot continue to expect them to become conservative and capitalist by age, a vote based on emotions is very dangerous and we all know this very well, which is why they have to "charm" Millennials and the "Z Generation" that represent the present and future of the world. Because it takes enterprising people and not people who want the state to be a "father" to help them and begin to accept that life is not what socialism says it can be, that is false, life has to be worked, fought and even suffered, as Dr. Jordan Peterson said in his talk: "Don't Be A Damn Victim!".
"The essential notion of a capitalist society... Is voluntary cooperation, voluntary exchange. The essential notion of a socialist society is force." - Milton Friedman
| # | References | Titles |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aier | Over Half of Millennials Identify as Socialist. Here’s How to Change Their Minds. |
| 2 | IOP Harvard | Harvard IOP Spring 2016 Poll:Clinton In Commanding Lead Over Trump Among Young Voters, Harvard Youth Poll Finds |
| 3 | NCBI | The Psychology of Adolescence |
| 4 | The Wall Street Journal | Why Do the Young Reject Capitalism? |
| 5 | The Washington Post | A majority of millennials now reject capitalism, poll shows |
| 6 | The Weekly Standard | How Conservatives Can Win Back Young Americans |
| 7 | Pew Research Center | The Generation Gap in American Politics |
| 8 | Pew Research Center | Worldwide, People Divided on Whether Life Today Is Better Than in the Past |
| 9 | Prageru | Walter Williams - Is Capitalism Moral? |
| 10 | Youtube | Agustín Laje: «Cada día hay más jóvenes contra el progresismo» |
| 11 | Youtube | Ben Shapiro: "Millennials Hate Capitalism" |
| 12 | Youtube | Jordan Peterson to Millennials: "Don't Be A Damn Victim!" |
