Is the Youth Vote Liberal?: Analyzing Attitudes Toward Business and Regulation

Younger Americans have more faith in the government's ability to improve the economy and regulate business, which can benefit the Democrats in the current two-party system. They are not hostile to capitalism and do not feel they have to choose between big government and big business.

Format: Hardback
Length: 238 pages
Publication date: 22 February 2024
Publisher: Lexington Books

Young Americans are not always reliable liberals, as suggested by some. However, a comprehensive analysis of surveys conducted from the present day back to the Great Depression, as well as interviews with campaign professionals from the Barack Obama and Bernie Sanders campaigns, reveals a different perspective. Zachary Cook argues that, across the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, younger Americans have a greater belief in the power of government to achieve better economic outcomes for all and effectively regulate business. While older voters may become more skeptical about the federal government's ability to oversee the private sector, youth are more idealistic about the government's potential to "do more," even if they may have doubts about current politicians in office. It's important to note that younger voters are not inherently hostile to capitalism. They do not feel compelled to choose between supporting big government and big business. In the current two-party system, this potential trust in the power of government works in favor of the Democrats when appealing to the youth vote.

Young Americans are not always reliable liberals, as suggested by some. However, a comprehensive analysis of surveys conducted from the present day back to the Great Depression, as well as interviews with campaign professionals from the Barack Obama and Bernie Sanders campaigns, reveals a different perspective. Zachary Cook argues that, across the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, younger Americans have a greater belief in the power of government to achieve better economic outcomes for all and effectively regulate business. While older voters may become more skeptical about the federal government's ability to oversee the private sector, youth are more idealistic about the government's potential to "do more," even if they may have doubts about current politicians in office. It's important to note that younger voters are not inherently hostile to capitalism. They do not feel compelled to choose between supporting big government and big business. In the current two-party system, this potential trust in the power of government works in favor of the Democrats when appealing to the youth vote.

Weight: 256g
Dimension: 159 x 235 x 23 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781666925708