In the United States, public opinion viewing capitalism positively has fallen to its lowest level in 15 years. The "American Dream" that sustained the United States has also become an old myth. In its place, deep distrust of capitalism and a yearning for socialism appear to have taken hold.
Based on major institutional polls released as of the 15th (local time), the share of Americans who believe in the "American Dream" remained at about one in three. According to a survey conducted in July by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and the University of Chicago's National Opinion Research Center (NORC), about 70% of U.S. adults answered that the American Dream "was valid in the past but is no longer" (46%) or "was never valid" (23%). Only 31% still believed the American Dream holds true.
The belief that "anyone can succeed if they work hard," that is, the American Dream, has been a driving force of American society. But faced with harsh economic realities, that belief has faded. Last year, the real hourly wage rose 1.1%. In contrast, prices and home prices soared without limit. From 2020 to 2025, the U.S. consumer price index (CPI) jumped 22%. Home costs also surged 126%, with the median principal-and-interest monthly payment rising from $1,043 in 2020 to $2,361 in June this year.
In particular, younger generations are struggling with student loans and facing a reality where owning a home is hard to imagine even over a lifetime of earnings. In a survey by the progressive-leaning think tank Data for Progress, 59% of respondents pointed to landlords and banks, not government regulation, as the cause of high housing expense. This year, the U.S. median mortgage expense is 48% of household income, far above the estimated appropriate level of 30%. As a result, 70% of all respondents, including 58% of Republican supporters, agreed that "the economic system is rigged to favor corporations and the wealthy." Experts noted, "A sense of deprivation that you cannot climb the ladder of upward mobility even with diligent effort has spread across society."
Economic discontent has turned into skepticism about the capitalist system itself. On the 15th, political media outlet Axios cited a Gallup poll conducted on the 8th showing that 54% of Americans viewed capitalism positively. That is the lowest figure since Gallup began the survey in 2010. Compared with 60% in 2021, it fell 6 percentage points in four years. Meanwhile, the share viewing socialism positively was 39%, holding at a similar level to before.
The decline in support for capitalism was particularly pronounced among Democratic supporters. Among Democrats, only 42% viewed capitalism positively, falling short of half. This is the first time in a Gallup survey that fewer than half of Democrats gave a positive response to capitalism. By contrast, 66% of them rated socialism positively. Responses rating socialism higher than capitalism were 24 percentage points more common. However, among Republican supporters, 74% said they support capitalism, revealing a clear ideological gap.
As the pendulum of public opinion shifted, the U.S. political landscape has tilted further to the left than before. Within the Democratic Party, so-called "democratic socialists," including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, have built a strong base. After socialism emerged as a topic in American political discourse in 2018, they have risen to the party mainstream in about seven years. The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), in which they work alongside independent Sen. Bernie Sanders, advocates expanding free health care and free education.
In the Data for Progress survey, they currently enjoy 20 percentage points higher support among Democrats than traditional, centrist, mainstream figures such as Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries. Citing experts, the AP said, "A representative example is Joran Mamdani, a self-described 'democratic socialist,' being selected in July as the Democratic candidate for New York mayor," adding, "He expanded his support base by prioritizing social agendas such as cost of living, housing, and wages over the Democratic Party's basic political ideology."
Feeling alarmed by the ideological shift, the Trump administration signaled a hard-line response. The recent assassination of young commentator Charlie Kirk poured fuel on this movement. Vice President JD Vance and White House senior adviser Stephen Miller on the 15th personally hosted the "Charlie Kirk Show," labeling left-wing groups as a "domestic terror movement." They declared they would mobilize the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security to launch a sweeping federal crackdown.