adminFor much of modern American politics, socialism existed largely outside the mainstream. That has changed. The Democratic Socialists of America, or DSA, has become the country’s most visible socialist organization.
The Marxist Unity Group, or MUG, is a much newer development. Emerging in 2021, MUG is an explicitly Marxist faction operating within DSA that seeks to influence the organization’s future direction.
The shift is especially noticeable among younger Americans. Gallup reported in September 2026 that adults ages 18 to 34 viewed socialism more positively than capitalism, 57% to 43%. The findings suggest that the term “socialism” carries less stigma among younger adults than it once did.
Why has that happened?
Part of the answer lies in economic frustration. While some young Americans may take our country’s prosperity and opportunities for granted, many face legitimate financial pressures, including high housing costs, student debt, rising health care costs, and uncertainty about their financial future.
These economic pressures, combined with the growing acceptance and normalization of socialist ideas in colleges and universities, can make young people more receptive to movements that promise to change the economic system itself.
DSA’s 2026 program, ‘Workers Deserve More,’ explicitly asks readers to imagine a future “without capitalism.” It describes the current economy as centered on private ownership and profit and argues for much greater democratic and public control over housing, health care, energy, transportation, and other sectors.
MUG goes further. It describes itself as a Marxist organization seeking to influence DSA and ultimately transform it into an independent socialist party. Its own materials state that its long-term objective is a classless society – “in a word, communism.” MUG also advocates major restructuring of the existing political and economic order, which it sees as necessary for working-class political power.
Cognitive Warfare
From a psychological standpoint, an idea does not have to be universally accepted to become normalized. It can move from radical to debatable, and eventually from debatable to politically possible.
This is where cognitive warfare comes in.
Cognitive warfare refers to deliberate efforts to influence perception, judgment, emotion, and behavior in order to gain strategic advantage. Ordinary political persuasion is not cognitive warfare.
However, modern leftist political movements employ many psychological mechanisms in the cognitive domain: repetition, emotional priming, grievance amplification, identity formation, selective presentation of information, and framing.
Consider the difference between saying:
“Housing is too expensive.”
and:
“Housing is too expensive because capitalism is designed to enrich owners at the expense of workers.”
The first identifies a problem.
The second supplies an entire interpretive frame: a system, a victim, an antagonist, and a reason for political change.
The same process can occur around wages, health care, and education. If a problem is framed as a policy failure, people may seek policy reform. If it is framed as evidence that the entire economic order is unjust, replacing that system becomes more acceptable.
A person may begin with a genuine frustration: rent is high, college is expensive, or wages feel inadequate. A political movement offers an explanation tied to identity like: workers versus owners.
Economic disagreement can then become moralized as a struggle between justice and injustice. Repeated exposure can make once-radical ideas feel increasingly familiar and more acceptable.
That is why the rise of DSA and MUG involves more than a debate over economic policy.
The deeper question is how Americans are being taught to interpret economic frustrations and how socialist ideas once considered outside the mainstream become familiar enough to be considered viable alternatives.
Republican Principles in Practice
The Democratic Party is being conquered from within by communist ideals. Republican principles, by contrast, are meant to safeguard America’s freedoms and foundations. However, if we are serious about countering the rise of socialism and communism, Republican principles must guide elected officials’ actions after Election Day.
We cannot warn against big government while expanding it ourselves, or preach fiscal responsibility while supporting higher taxes, fees, spending, and intrusive policies.
When young Americans face rising costs and economic pressure, promises of greater government intervention can become more appealing. Republicans strengthen the case for limited government by demonstrating it in practice: restrained spending, lower taxes, personal responsibility, economic freedom, and respect for individual liberty.
Republican principles only work as a counter to socialism and communism if elected Republicans actually govern by them. The strongest argument against socialism is the prosperity that can be fostered by limited government, economic freedom, and fiscal responsibility – Republican principles put into practice.
Author: Joseph Vargas