Reason-Rupe has a new survey and report out on
millennials—find the report
here.
If millennials had to choose, 57 percent would rather live in a
society where “wealth is distributed according to achievement”
while 40 percent would prefer a “society where the gap between rich
and poor is small regardless of achievement.”
The World Values Survey has asked this same question on surveys
across the globe, to measure people’s preferences for a
competitive/meritocratic society or an egalitarian society where
incomes are more equal. American millennials are solidly in the
competitive, meritocratic camp.
Economic conservatism is
strongly tied to a preference for a competitive, meritocratic
society and economic liberalism tied to preference for an
egalitarian society. Economically conservative millennials, 79
percent prefer a competitive society, compared to 45 percent of
strong economic liberals. Conversely, 53 percent of strong economic
liberals prefer an egalitarian society compared to 20 percent of
strong economic conservatives.
There are not many significant differences across demographic
groups, but political groups do vary.
Egalitarian preferences correlate highly with attitudes toward
government and the economic system. Egalitarian millennials say
government should redistribute wealth (60%), say socialism is
better than capitalism (51%), and prefer a larger government with
more services (56%). Millennials who prefer a
competitive/meritocratic system are essentially a mirror image, and
say government does not have a responsibility to reduce income
differences (59%), prefer capitalism over socialism (59%), and
favor a smaller government (56%).
Conservatives (72%) and libertarians (83%) strongly favor a
competitive/merit-based society, as do 57 percent of moderates, 49
percent of liberals, and 44 percent of progressives. Progressives
and liberals are more likely to favor an egalitarian society, 54
and 50 percent respectively, as are 40 percent of moderates, 27
percent of conservatives, and 16 percent of libertarians.
Some may be tempted to dub millennials the “everybody
gets a trophy generation.” But ultimately, when push comes to
shove, millennials opt for meritocracy over an egalitarian
society.
To
learn more about millennials, check
out Reason-Rupe’s new report.
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