Authored by Steve Cortes via Cortes Investigates,

There’s real angst among older Americans about Gen Z’s openness to socialism. For those of us shaped by the Cold War, this flirtation with Marxism-lite feels alarming.

But we need to pause and rethink what we’re actually seeing.

Gen Z isn’t embracing socialism because they dream of five-year plans. They’re listening because the “capitalism” they were sold was already broken—rigged for insiders, punishing for everyone else.

They’ve been:

• Systematically lied to, about major issues

• Shut out of real opportunity

• Raised in an economy designed to reward incumbents, not strivers

Also, they didn’t come pre-programmed. They don’t warm to inherited allegiances. The ideological labels—capitalism, socialism, Zionism, democracy, equity—don’t trigger the same instincts in them. In many cases, they don’t trigger anything at all.

Because maybe they don’t even know (or care) that they’re supposed to be pro-this or anti-that. They weren’t around for the Cold War. They didn’t watch the Berlin Wall fall. They weren’t raised on 9/11 flags or 20th-century partisan scripts.

What they were around for was collapse.

They saw their parents lose homes in 2008. They saw entire towns swallowed by fentanyl. They got locked in their bedrooms by “experts” who wrecked their lives and walked away clean. They were force-fed contradictions: “trust the science,” “speech is violence,” “men are women,” “America is evil,” “conform or else.”

They weren’t around for the great debates of the last century. They were around for the fallout. So no—don’t expect them to fall in line.

I polled over 2,000 young adults, aged 18–25. The results were eye-opening. Yes, 43% said they view socialism positively, vs. 33% negatively. The other 24% weren’t sure. Even among young Trump voters, it was a 40–40 split.

But they’re not drawn to socialism because they want state control. They’re drawn to something else—something different—because what’s here now DOES NOT WORK FOR THEM! What they’ve seen isn’t free enterprise. It’s a crony system where power protects power.

Still, don’t confuse them for leftists. They are, in many ways, anti-woke populists in the making:

• 67–21% say trans violence is a systemic issue

• 69–24% fiercely back free speech—even if it’s “offensive” or “untrue”

• They reject males in female sports

• 66–21% say we intervene too much overseas

• 70–20% are deeply concerned about the national debt

They want sovereignty. Clarity. Reality. But what they get is a system that works for the already successful—and nobody else.

88% say they want to buy a home in their 20s or 30s. Most know they won’t. First-time homebuyer age just hit 40, a historic high.

They’re facing a brutal job market. The unemployment rate for 20–24-year-old college grads is now 9.5%, the highest in over a decade, except for the lockdowns. Automation is crushing entry-level candidates. Goldman Sachs economist Joseph Briggs just warned that “Gen Z professionals, especially those in junior tech roles, are at the frontlines of job displacement as companies rapidly automate entry-level tasks.”

So yeah, they’re open to something new. They’re not ideologues—they’re pragmatists who’ve seen the receipts.

And they’ve seen that the elite don’t believe in capitalism either—at least not when it applies to them. When things go bad, it’s bailout time. In 2008, Wall Street big shots all got rescued. Masses of regular Americans lost homes. Nothing changed.

Palantir CEO Alex Karp explained it bluntly: “these business leaders make completely stupid decisions, and they get bailed out, a year later they’re getting huge bonuses. And what do the American people get? Nothing.” As a consequence, “no one believes the institutions are credible,” and certainly not skeptical young adults.

So no—Gen Z doesn’t trust institutions. At all. And why should they?

They were told:

• “There are 56 genders”

• “America was founded for slavery”

• “White men are inherently guilty”

• “The science is settled—until it’s not”

• “Shut up, mask up, and be grateful”

And through it all, they were punished for asking questions.

So when they don’t pledge allegiance on cue, don’t act surprised.

They don’t arrive with preloaded scripts. No automatic “stand with” or “stand against.” No guilt-based loyalty tests. They weren’t raised on legacy narratives.

They look at what’s happening—who’s suffering, who’s in power, who’s lying—and they judge in real time.

They’re not picking sides because someone told them to. They’re asking questions older generations were told never to ask. They don’t trust official narratives—because none of the storytellers have earned their trust.

They are skeptical of every flag, every faction, every moral claim. And based on what they’ve lived through, they should be.

That doesn’t mean they’re always right. It means they’re not controlled.

This generation is done playing someone else’s war game with someone else’s talking points.

If you want their support, you’ll have to earn it — with authenticity and transparency.

So when they say they’re open to socialism, what they really mean is:

“We want a system that actually works. And this one doesn’t.”

So…let’s lead them and persuade them of a better economy, built on widely-dispersed prosperity that prioritizes American workers and small businesses. One that protects against predatory trade practices and halts the flood of foreign workers inot our homeland.

Localism. Ownership. Sovereignty. They want a system that rewards real work—not credentials, not connections, not corporate lies.

They’re cynical, skeptical, and absolutely justified.

And now it’s on us — especially Gen X, to do what no one else has done:

Tell the truth. Smash the oligopolies. Kill the sacred cows. Restore an economy that works for Main Street, not just Davos.

Gen Z doesn’t need a pep talk.

They need proof.

Steve Cortes is president of the League of American Workers. He directs political campaigns on media, polling, and Hispanic outreach, including Trump 2016/2020 and Vance 2022 US Senate. He is a former broadcaster for Fox News and CNN.