(LifeSiteNews) — College undergraduate students are largely split on which economic system is best for the country, according to a new poll.
The Buckley Institute, a conservative group at Yale University, released the findings as part of its annual survey of college students.
“While capitalism outpolled socialism (40% to 36%) for the second year in a row, a remarkable 46% of undergraduates believe that ‘socialist countries like Cuba and the Soviet Union … offer a better economic model than capitalist countries like the United States,’ versus the 39% who disagree,” the group reported in its results.
“While socialist countries like Cuba and the Soviet Union have not been perfect, they offer a better economic model than capitalist countries like the United States,” the survey asked. About half responded in agreement to this statement.
Students also gave contradictory responses when asked about specific socialistic-type measures. More students, although not a majority, opposed government-run grocery stores, an idea proposed by socialist New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani. On the other hand, a majority of college students supported rent-controlled apartments, which prohibit landlords from raising prices. Most economists agree that rent control ultimately harms renters by restricting the supply of apartments
A North Dakota State University professor has suggested, in reference to his own survey on socialism and capitalism, that many college students do not understand the terms. “Only 34% of students define socialism as state ownership and central planning, the classic definition,” Professor John Bitzan wrote in mid-September. “Almost half instead define it as active government and redistribution, and many admit they are unsure. This confusion shapes how people talk about socialism and why it polls well with young voters.”
There were other concerning results in the Buckley Institute survey.
The survey found “nearly half of students believe it sometimes acceptable to shout down or disrupt speakers, while almost four-in-ten believe physical violence can be justified to stop hate speech.”
The Buckley Institute took the poll between September 5 and Septemeber 14, so it includes several days that followed the assassination of Turning Point USA CEO Charlie Kirk.
“One third believe offensive speech should be subject to criminal prosecution,” the group found. Still, a majority of respondents said it is not acceptable to use violence to stop “hate speech” or racist language.
Buckley Institute Executive Director Lauren Noble provided further commentary on the results.
“It is clear that despite support for free speech in theory, America’s undergraduates don’t support it in practice,” Noble stated in a news release with the results. “America’s college students support shout downs and violence to stop offensive speech at an alarming rate, particularly worrying in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination. And they have a concerning predilection for the Cuban and Soviet economies. American higher education is in trouble.”
Students also supported mandatory diversity statements by professors. They also support taxing university endowments.
College students oppose gender-confused men in women’s sports
On the other hand, college students largely agreed with President Donald Trump’s stance that gender-confused men should not be allowed to compete in female sports.
About 6-in-10 respondents agreed that males competing against women “disadvantages other athletes because there are biological differences between men and women.”
Even about half of liberal respondents agreed with this statement, as did 59 percent of women and 64 percent of men.
There was also broad agreement that deportations of illegal immigrants are at least sometimes acceptable.
Asked about their views on deportations, 18 percent of students said all illegal immigrants should be deported, another 28 percent said those who have committed any crime should be deported, while and additional 42 percent said illegals who committed a serious crime should be deported.
In total then, about 90 percent of college students support deportation in at least some situation.
The survey included around 800 students. About 55 percent of respondents were female and the other 44 percent were male, although 1 percent said they did not “identify” as one of the two sexes. The Buckley Institute reported about half of the respondents identified as liberal, 28 percent as moderate, and 20 percent as conservative.