By Jamie Oleka
Socialism, once a word that carried significant political baggage in America, is finding renewed appeal, particularly among younger generations. What was once treated as a fringe political philosophy has become part of mainstream conversations about affordability, fairness, and the American Dream. A September 2026 Gallup poll found that 43% of Americans view socialism positively, the highest share recorded since the organization began tracking the question in 2010. Capitalism remains more popular, but the shift warrants attention. What exactly are Americans embracing, and what do they expect it to deliver?
As a mother raising young children, I believe these questions matter well beyond any single election.
Why Socialism Appeals
For many Millennials and Gen Z Americans, the frustration is understandable. Housing prices, student debt, healthcare costs, and inflation can make traditional markers of adulthood feel increasingly out of reach. Working hard does not always seem to translate into financial security.
Proposals for affordable healthcare, tuition-free education, and a stronger economic safety net naturally resonate with people who feel the system is failing them. Not everyone who supports these policies identifies as a socialist. Nor does every government program constitute socialism. Yet growing enthusiasm for a larger government role raises legitimate questions about cost, effectiveness, and the limits of state power. Identifying real problems is only the beginning. We must also examine whether the proposed solutions will work over time.
A Warning from France
French technology entrepreneur Brivael Le Pogam recently offered Americans a striking perspective. In an October statement, he pointed to France’s substantial public spending, government debt, and struggles with public services. After protests across France turned violent in some places, he described the unrest as evidence of what he considers the long-term consequences of left-wing economic policies.
His warning deserves consideration, but also context. France is a market economy with a large welfare state, not a fully socialist system. Its economic challenges and recent unrest have multiple causes, and peaceful demonstrators should not be equated with rioters. Still, Le Pogam’s central concern invites serious reflection: What happens when government commitments expand faster than the resources available to sustain them?
That question is not uniquely French. Every society faces trade-offs between the assistance people want today and the obligations future generations must carry tomorrow. Compassionate intentions do not make budgets unlimited, and a promised benefit is not necessarily a sustainable one.
Opportunity, Not Just Promises
America’s economic promise has never been that everyone will achieve identical outcomes. It has been that people should have the freedom to pursue opportunity, innovate, build businesses, and improve their circumstances.
Free enterprise has generated extraordinary wealth and innovation, though its benefits have not reached everyone equally. Barriers to opportunity are real, and dismissing them only makes sweeping alternatives more attractive. We should be willing to address those barriers without assuming that greater government control is always the answer. The debate is not whether government should help people in need. There is an important role for a safety net. The debate is how to offer meaningful help while safeguarding economic freedom, fiscal responsibility, and the incentives that allow communities and businesses to thrive.
What We Leave Our Children
When I think about my children’s future, I want them to inherit a country where compassion and responsibility reinforce each other. I want them to understand that opportunity requires more than promises and that good policy must be measured by results, not intentions alone. I also want them to recognize that freedom carries responsibility. A society that values hard work, generosity, entrepreneurship, and strong families should be careful about surrendering those strengths in pursuit of solutions that sound appealing but may produce unintended consequences.
Younger Americans deserve to be heard when they say the economy feels out of reach. They also deserve a serious conversation about how different economic systems work, what they cost, and what history can teach us. France should not be used as a simplistic prediction of America’s future. But its debates over spending, public services, and social frustration are reminders that choices carry consequences.
Before embracing any sweeping vision for our economy, we should ask a question that transcends political labels: Will it leave the next generation more capable of building a life of its own? The American Dream depends not only on what we promise our children, but on the freedom and opportunity we preserve for them.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jamie Oleka is a wife, mother, and experienced leader with a background spanning K-12 education, nonprofit leadership, and management consulting. Most recently, she served as a Management Consultant at Accenture, following leadership roles in education and nonprofits. She is actively engaged in writing and community initiatives. Jamie holds a Master of Education from Francis Marion University, as well as a Master of Arts in Teaching and an Education Specialist degree in K-12 Administration from the University of Louisville.
