Fox News Digital interviewed residents in Portland, Maine, about what socialism means to them and whether they support its principles. Their responses ranged from support for measures aimed at reducing inequality to concern that expanding government control would threaten private ownership and individual economic freedom.
Lewis, a retired Navy veteran, described socialism as a system that addresses people’s needs and distinguished it from communism. But when asked whether he would accept private property being transferred to government or collective control, he said he had not considered socialism in those terms. He supported ideas such as national health care, while saying he opposed the government taking property from people.
Nolan, who had recently moved to Portland, said the country’s wealth imbalance could be addressed through some form of redistribution. He argued that people who are struggling could benefit, while also maintaining that business owners should retain independence and people should be able to earn money. Nolan said some highly profitable corporations held more wealth than they needed and suggested more resources could reach disadvantaged people, including those without homes.
Another interviewee, Nola, said socialism represented equity and continued to support it when asked about public ownership of businesses and production. She said her experience as the daughter of a small-business owner had shown her the challenges small firms face. Nola argued that government support could help small businesses and that making more of the privatized economy public could be beneficial.
Ted took the opposing position, calling socialism a poor idea. He warned that it could concentrate excessive power in government and likened that risk to dictatorship. Ted said socialism would lead to impoverishment, while a free-market economy could create wealth for more people, even though some individuals were wealthy and greedy.
The report placed the street interviews amid national political debate over socialism during the midterm election cycle. It said candidates supported by the Democratic Socialists of America had won high-profile Democratic primaries against more centrist candidates, and described the group’s influence as part of a broader contest over the Democratic Party’s direction.
The report cited a Fox News national poll in which 32% of voters viewed socialism favorably and 64% unfavorably. It said the favorable rating matched the poll’s previous high, first recorded five years earlier, and noted Fox News had asked about the issue since 2019. A September Gallup poll, as described in the report, found 43% of Americans had a positive image of socialism, the highest level since Gallup began tracking the question in 2010.
The Fox News poll also found that 51% of voters had a favorable view of capitalism, while 46% viewed it unfavorably. The figures reflect responses to separate questions about the two systems; the report did not provide further details about the polls’ methodology.
The article described socialism and communism as both involving collective ownership of productive assets, while distinguishing socialism as a broad range of approaches that may permit private enterprise. It characterized communism as traditionally seeking the end of private ownership of productive assets and, ultimately, a classless society. The Portland interviews illustrated that residents used the term socialism in different ways, including to mean assistance for people in need, greater economic equality, or government ownership and control.
