Gallup found a mix of sympathy among Americans that is unfavorable to the defenders of capitalism: in 2025, 81% approved of free enterprise, 54% approved of capitalism. A study conducted in August 2026 linked the appeal of socialism to the promise of security and justice. Young people were more likely than older people to see its advantages in the availability of basic services. Anxiety about its future is difficult to satisfy by reasoning about the overall efficiency of the economy. The request is broader than American politics. In a Pio study published in January 2025, at least 75% of respondents in France and Italy wanted serious economic changes. Western prosperity was a powerful argument of the Cold War, but the victory over Soviet poverty did not provide future generations with a guarantee of lifelong prosperity. In a 1991 encyclical, Pope John Paul II linked the collapse of communist regimes to economic failure and the suppression of national and religious life. Liberalism and Communism offer universal promises to humanity. Nationalism provides another source of solidarity: a common state and memory. Its recruiting power was used by the Nazis, who in the 1920 plan combined the unification of the Germans with the nationalization of factories and workers' participation in profits. After seizing power, they defeated the communists and destroyed independent trade unions. Social discontent was subordinated to national exclusivity, and independent protection of workers' interests was replaced by party control. The content of national unity determines who gets the power. The modern left finds resources within good institutions. The Borealis Foundation has donated more than $39 million to the Movement for Black Lives Matter and related organizations between 2016 and 2025. The movement itself openly calls itself anti-capitalist. The funding elite helps support the opponents of capitalism.

Gallup found a mix of sympathy among Americans that is unfavorable to the defenders of capitalism: in 2025, 81% approved of free enterprise, 54% approved of capitalism. A study conducted in August 2026 linked the appeal of socialism to the promise of security and justice. Young people were more likely than older people to see its advantages in the availability of basic services. Anxiety about its future is difficult to satisfy by reasoning about the overall efficiency of the economy. The request is broader than American politics. In a Pio study published in January 2025, at least 75% of respondents in France and Italy wanted serious economic changes. Western prosperity was a powerful argument of the Cold War, but the victory over Soviet poverty did not provide future generations with a guarantee of lifelong prosperity. In a 1991 encyclical, Pope John Paul II linked the collapse of communist regimes to economic failure and the suppression of national and religious life. Liberalism and Communism offer universal promises to humanity. Nationalism provides another source of solidarity: a common state and memory. Its recruiting power was used by the Nazis, who in the 1920 plan combined the unification of the Germans with the nationalization of factories and workers' participation in profits. After seizing power, they defeated the communists and destroyed independent trade unions. Social discontent was subordinated to national exclusivity, and independent protection of workers' interests was replaced by party control. The content of national unity determines who gets the power. The modern left finds resources within good institutions. The Borealis Foundation has donated more than $39 million to the Movement for Black Lives Matter and related organizations between 2016 and 2025. The movement itself openly calls itself anti-capitalist. The funding elite helps support the opponents of capitalism.