Gravitas | From Trump’s policies to rising inequality: why socialism is rising in US

After years of Donald Trump at the helm of affairs, is America now moving towards the left? Socialism, which was once a relic of the past in America, is pretty much back in demand.

For instance, Abdul El-Sayed became the latest left-leaning candidate to win the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Michigan, ahead of November's midterm polls. He faced the ire of none other than the U.S. President himself.

In particular, the Democratic Socialists came into focus after Zohran Mamdani beat all odds and created history to become New York's first Muslim mayor. Democratic socialists advocate an expanded role for the state, universal healthcare and taxing the rich.

According to a recent poll conducted by CNN, one-third of Democratic Party-leaning adults now identify as democratic socialists. Let's look at some more insights. A majority of them tend to be younger than 45 years of age. They are also less likely to have a college degree, with relatively less annual earning. Most importantly, nearly 68% of them hold favourable views of the Democratic Party.

But why has socialism not gained a foothold in the US unlike most other countries? Experts attribute this to the lack of a strong trade union movement, ingrained values of capitalism and absence of a feudal system.

What has changed now, though? Trump's policies are believed to have generated a radical response. Additionally, the growing inequality of wealth, income and opportunity has also played a big role in socialist principles slowly gaining ground.

As per a Gallup poll last year, almost four in ten U.S. voters had a positive view of socialism.

While it remains to be seen how many candidates espousing the socialist point of view actually get elected, it is amply clear that there is an opportunity to channelise the growing resentment against Trump's governance style.