The modern rise of American socialists can be traced, in part, to 2008 with the housing crisis. Evictions, foreclosures, and financial instability created a generation of young adults disillusioned with the traditional political parties and the existing capitalist system. This frustration was vividly expressed in movements like Occupy Wall Street, where protesters condemned how the wealthiest Americans and major banks recovered quickly while ordinary people struggled to rebuild their lives.
This movement was reflected in Bernie Sanders’ 2016 presidential run. His campaign, while it did not win the presidency, garnered support from millions of young Americans fed up with tradition.
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In 2025, the movement persists, this time, with a candidate for mayor. Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist, recently became the democratic candidate for New York City mayor. His success is attributed partly to the aforementioned financial crisis, which revealed the inability of both major political parties to make a difference and the limits of capitalism.
However, modern socialism is not solely tied to finance. It is a form of activism tied to material struggles – such as housing, healthcare, inequality – emerging from dissatisfaction with traditional American policy.