Commentary
From time to time, I am struck by the views of fellow blogger Francis Menton, who writes commentaries under the title, Manhattan Contrarian.
You may recall my July 23, 2026, blog in which I commented on the Democratic Socialists 2026-2027 program, poking fun of it like reading a Dick and Jane elementary level book.
Menton compares life in the DSA like being a zoo animal instead of a life as an adult. He views an adult as someone “who, at a minimum, either alone or in a family structure, provides for himself or herself. That’s a minimum.
“Even more worthwhile,” he adds, “is being an adult who also, through effort and within a family structure, creates and provides for a family. Still more worthwhile is being an adult who, after fully providing for his family, also assists others who may need help.”
After reading the DSA program, Menton notes that the alternative to living as an adult is living as a dependent on others or on society. “You are relieved of all responsibilities and somebody else somehow comes up with whatever you may you need in life, be it food or housing or health care. Your life is no longer burdened by the need to provide for yourself and family and can live without stress and without need to fulfill obligations.”
This may sound great to those younger voters who seem to have fallen for the free stuff of socialism, but Menton views it as ”the life of a zoo animal.”
Surveys seem to bear out the interest of young Americans in socialism. In the Pacific Research Institute newsletter, “On Young Americans and their Growing Acceptance of Socialism,” they quote the findings of surveys conducted by the Heartland Institute and Rasmussen Reports revealed that 53 percent of Americans aged 18-39 would like to see a DSA candidate win the 2028 presidential election.
More worrisome to me is their finding that 76 percent of the respondents agree that ‘major industries like health care, energy and big tech should be nationalized to give more control and equity to the people.’
In an in-depth report by the libertarian Cato Institute “Young Americans Like Socialism Too Much – That’s a Problem Libertarians Must Fix,” its survey with YouGov “paints a troubling picture of 62 percent of Americans aged 18-29 saying they hold a favorable view of socialism.
The answer is education. It must come from those who understand the foundations of liberty.
“If millions of young Americans don’t know the basic facts about ideas that enslaved nearly half the world and helped launch World War II,” asks Cato, “how can they make sound decisions about policies—or whom to vote for?
May the adults of America come forward to educate our youth on life in a zoo.
