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PORTLAND, Maine — Americans surveyed by Fox News Digital about their views on socialism offered very different interpretations of the ideology, with some accepting its promises of economic equality while others expressed strong reservations about government control over the means of production.
Fox News Digital took to the streets of Maine’s largest city, a progressive stronghold, to talk to residents about their definition of socialism and how far they would be willing to go to embrace its ideals.
The theme of socialism has figured prominently in election coverage this midterm election cycle, as Democratic Socialists of America (DSA)-backed candidates scored high-profile victories over their more centrist rivals in a series of Democratic primaries this year. The DSA’s outsized influence has been a driving force in the electoral battle for the ideological future of the Democratic Party.
RESIDENTS OF THE LIBERAL HOTSPOT DISAGREE ON WHAT SOCIALISM MEAN
Protesters hold up a Democratic Socialists of America banner before the Board’s Rent Guidelines vote in New York on Thursday, June 25, 2026. (Bloomberg via Getty Images)
A new national poll from Fox News indicates that 32 percent of voters have a favorable view of socialism, and 64 percent view it unfavorably. But the favorable rating matches an all-time high, first reached five years ago, since Fox News first began asking the question in 2019. And a September Gallup poll found that 43% of Americans had a positive view of socialism, the highest level since the polling organization began tracking the question in 2010.
Lewis, a retired Navy veteran, said socialism was a good thing because it “meets the needs of the people…and that’s not communism.”
Both socialism and communism emphasize collective ownership of the means of production, such as factories, corporations, and large industries. But socialism encompasses a range of approaches, including those that allow private enterprise, while communism traditionally envisions the abolition of private ownership of productive assets and, ultimately, a classless society.
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Lewis became skeptical when Fox News Digital asked him whether he would personally cede private property to government or collective control.
“I guess. I hadn’t really thought about socialism that way. I think about the need to meet people’s needs, you know, things like…national health care, things like that,” he responded. “I don’t like it when the government takes things away from you.”
Nolan, who recently moved to Portland, told Fox News Digital “there’s a lot of wealth imbalance in America right now, and we could benefit from some sort of leveling system.”
He said socialism exists to help “people who, you know, don’t benefit as much from society.”
Nolan added that “business owners should have autonomy” and “people deserve to earn their money.”
“But there are a lot of very high-end companies… that are profiting so much… that really don’t need that much wealth… there’s so much exorbitant wealth at the top that a lot of that wealth could trickle down to people who are disadvantaged and unhoused,” Nolan said.
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Nola, another resident of Portland’s Monument Square, said socialism was “a good thing. It means fairness.”
Asked about the takeover of businesses and the means of production under socialism, Nola said she still “100%” supports socialism.
“I’m the daughter of a small business owner. I’ve seen how hard it is to run a small business in this country and how easy it is for businesses to do whatever they want,” she explained. “So if we gave back to small businesses and the government helped them…and a lot of the privatized market actually became public, I think…given the size of the United States, that would only be a good thing.”
Ted disagreed.
“Socialism as a whole, I think is a horrible idea,” he stressed. “If we can learn from history, anything from history, we see that this is really going to give way too much power to the institution of government. It’s going to… create things that are overall harmful to everyone… it’s like it’s a dictatorship.”
Ted argued that “socialism only makes you poorer.” Capitalism, the free market economy, is a good thing.”
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He added that while “some people are very rich and very greedy,” capitalism as a whole “creates other wealth for other people.”
The new Fox News poll found that 51% of voters had a favorable view of capitalism, compared to 32% who viewed socialism favorably. 46% of them had an unfavorable view of capitalism.
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