Opinion polls over the last decade have shown that millennials have developed a worryingly high opinion of socialism. Whereas in 2010, polls showed that young people favoured capitalism over socialism:
• in a poll taken in late 2017, a majority of millennials indicated they would prefer to live in a “socialist, communist, or fascist nation rather than a capitalist one”; and
• In an August 2018 Gallup poll, 51% of young people said they approved of socialism, compared to 45% for capitalism.
This three-year project – to be conducted in partnership with American and Australian Institutes – will counter this trend by educating interested citizens, particularly young people (and others) about the realities of socialism. It includes
• five studies
o two examining the experience of two formerly socialist countries that have transitioned to markets and democracy
o two on two Scandinavian countries (are often mistakenly called socialist); and
o one on nations which have taken a markedly different approach to providing social services;
• fifty info-graphics and thirty videos;
• three sets of lesson plans for high school teachers;
• a virtual online home for these resources;
• twenty teacher workshops; and
• ten speaking engagements with student audiences.
Each book will be written by an expert, in accessible language, and will use a specially-complied database of economic, political, and social indicators to:
• Describe the nature of “socialism” in the country;
• If applicable, discuss the transition or reform(s) towards markets and democracy;
• Empirically analyze a country’s (or group of countries’) performance in both absolute and comparatively against similar counties and the OECD average across a host of measures, e.g. income, economic growth. life expectancy, measures of economic, personal, democratic and civil freedom.
Project outputs would be marketed extensively through each partner’s networks and programs.
