Emily Ekins, research fellow and director of polling at the Cato Institute, joined the Federalist Radio Hour to explain why millennial think they like socialism, but only in theory, and to debate whether 2016 really is the libertarian moment. Mollie Hemingway, senior editor at the Federalist, explains her reporting on the Colorado caucuses and the infamous Trump delegate.
There is an ongoing debate about whether libertarian ideals have started to hold when it comes to the general population. “At the federal level, at the state level, at the local level, you have governments more involved in the day to day lives of people,” Hemingway said. “There is an issue of people claiming to believe in a restraint of government and then not caring or doing anything to stop it.”
Ekins shared her polling data on various generations and what they believe about economic and social issues. Young people have trended left on cultural and social issues but have not shifted much at all on economics. “It surprises people because [millennials] say they like socialism but once you actually clarify what that means, they don’t like that idea very much and as they make more money that changes,” she said.
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