How do we stop them?
They fail to recognize that the federal takeover of college loans with easy access to excessive funding for “equality” has resulted in outrageous college costs. Default on these loans adds billions to our already gargantuan national debt.
Young Americans blame capitalism for the high cost of rent and housing. Yet a study by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas showed that mass immigration allowed by the government between early 2021 and early 2024 was responsible for roughly 20 percent of rent growth and 30 percent of the overall increase in house prices.
Young Americans don’t understand that big government regulations increase the cost of building a house or manufacturing a car or a gallon of gas at the pump.
They don’t recognize that the types of government involvement they might favor, such as subsidies for green energy or special benefits in the name of social justice, contribute to the crony capitalism they oppose.
America is obviously at a critical crossroads. Our Founding Fathers understood how vital knowledge is to our freedom. In an 1816 letter, Thomas Jefferson famously wrote, “If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be.” He believed that people who do not learn about their rights or government can be easily tricked.
Currently, 39 states require students to take a personal finance course to graduate. Only twelve states require that the fundamentals of free market capitalism be taught in personal financial literacy and personal economic courses.
Texas, one of the nation’s leaders in education, requires students to take one of two courses that combine personal financial literacy and economics with emphasis on the free enterprise system.
If America is to remain a free nation, each state must mandate courses that teach students the building blocks of our capitalist system, with individual liberty, personal responsibility, and economic opportunity. Once our youth understand how free market capitalism has made America the freest and richest nation on earth and the benefits of free enterprise to them personally, organizations like the Democratic Socialists of Am
In recent years, America’s positive views about capitalism have declined, and its positive views about socialism have increased. The shift is especially pronounced among younger voters. A 2021 Gallup poll found that just 47 percent of American youth, aged 18 to 34, favored capitalism, down nearly 20 points from 10 years earlier. By 2025, support had plunged still more, with only 39 percent favoring capitalism, according to the Harvard Youth Poll.
The shift helps explain the rise in support by Gen Z and Millennial voters for political candidates affiliated with the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). New York City’s Gen Z and Millennial voters turned out en masse to elect DSA candidates.
DSA advocates for government control over almost every aspect of the economy, which brings loss of personal freedom. Why would young voters reject free market capitalism when it is responsible for much of America’s standing as the world’s largest economy and the most innovations over the past century. Why would young adults reject free market capitalism, which has brought economic freedom and lifted more than one billion people out of poverty worldwide?
A survey by Newsweek showed clearly that Gen Z and Millennials do not understand free market capitalism and socialism.
Of those responding, 55 percent believed that capitalism is an economic system in which property is privately owned and production and pricing are driven by market forces. This is free-market capitalism.
The other 45 percent viewed capitalism as an economic system in which corporations gain an edge over competitors with special tax breaks, political connections, and separate rules. This is crony capitalism.
The distinctions matter: 42 percent of those who identified free market capitalism viewed it positively, whereas 2 percent of those who identified capitalism as crony capitalism held a positive view.
When asked about socialism, 42 percent said it is an economic system with planning by the government and property owned by society. This is central planning.
The other 58 percent said socialism is an economic system in which individuals and companies make decisions on goods and services and their pricing, but the government plays an active role in assuring that pricing and distribution are equitable “between rich and poor.” This is redistribution
For students who defined socialism as redistribution, 45 percent had a positive view, whereas 14 percent who defined it as central planning had a positive view.
Gen Z and Millennials face major financial hurdles with exorbitant college debt, high housing costs that force many to get roommates or move back home, and difficulty in finding or keeping jobs. Expensive rent makes it difficult to save money, so many are postponing marrying, buying a home, and starting a family. They believe that the American Dream of education, hard work, and upward mobility is merely a dream from the distant past. They see only a bleak future.
Naïvely, they blame capitalism for their dire circumstances, unaware of the real cause of the problems.
They fail to recognize that the federal takeover of college loans with easy access to excessive funding for “equality” has resulted in outrageous college costs. Default on these loans adds billions to our already gargantuan national debt.
Young Americans blame capitalism for the high cost of rent and housing. Yet a study by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas showed that mass immigration allowed by the government between early 2021 and early 2024 was responsible for roughly 20 percent of rent growth and 30 percent of the overall increase in house prices.
Young Americans don’t understand that big government regulations increase the cost of building a house or manufacturing a car or a gallon of gas at the pump.
They don’t recognize that the types of government involvement they might favor, such as subsidies for green energy or special benefits in the name of social justice, contribute to the crony capitalism they oppose.
America is obviously at a critical crossroads. Our Founding Fathers understood how vital knowledge is to our freedom. In an 1816 letter, Thomas Jefferson famously wrote, “If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be.” He believed that people who do not learn about their rights or government can be easily tricked.
Currently, 39 states require students to take a personal finance course to graduate. Only twelve states require that the fundamentals of free market capitalism be taught in personal financial literacy and personal economic courses.
Texas, one of the nation’s leaders in education, requires students to take one of two courses that combine personal financial literacy and economics with emphasis on the free enterprise system.
If America is to remain a free nation, each state must mandate courses that teach students the building blocks of our capitalist system, with individual liberty, personal responsibility, and economic opportunity. Once our youth understand how free market capitalism has made America the freest and richest nation on earth and the benefits of free enterprise to them personally, organizations like the Democratic Socialists of Am
THE ARTFUL DILETTANTE 