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Young Americans Warm to Democratic Socialism Amid Economic, AI Concerns
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By News
Published 27 minutes ago on
August 13, 2026

Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks to reporters in New York, July 7, 2026. (Dave Sanders/The New York Times)

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A new CNBC Generation Lab poll found 46% of Americans ages 18 to 34 have a favorable or very favorable view of democratic socialism, as younger adults express deep concerns about the economy and artificial intelligence.

The survey of 1,088 people, conducted earlier this month, found 23% viewed democratic socialism somewhat or very unfavorably. The poll has a margin of error of 2.97 percentage points.

Economic pessimism was widespread: 45% rated the national economy “bad,” 27% called it “really bad” and 6% said it “couldn’t be worse.” Half expect the economy to worsen. Housing was the leading financial pressure, cited by 45%.

On AI, 45% said it would negatively affect careers, while 10% expected a positive effect. Forty percent favored federal AI rules, and 60% said data center construction should be slowed. Major AI industry leaders also received low trust ratings from respondents overall in the CNBC Generation Lab survey.

Read more at CNBC.

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