This is an era where words like "hate" are weaponised to silence dissent — where social media platforms deplatform conservatives for "hate speech," campuses ban speakers accused of promoting "hate," and public discourse polices language with ever-expanding definitions of bigotry — one glaring exception persists: socialism. Despite a historical record that dwarfs most other ideologies in sheer scale of human suffering, socialism not only escapes the label of "hate crime" but enjoys surging popularity, especially among the young.
As of 2025–2026, polls reveal a stark generational shift. A recent Axios-Generation Lab survey of college students found that 34% view socialism positively, compared to just 17% for capitalism. Broader data from the Cato Institute and YouGov shows that 62% of Americans aged 18–29 hold a favourable view of socialism. Gallup trends indicate socialism and capitalism are now roughly tied in popularity among young adults, with Democrats increasingly favouring socialism (around 66% positive in recent readings). This resurgence comes amid figures like democratic socialists gaining traction in urban politics and progressive circles. Yet history demands we ask: if ideologies promoting group-based dehumanisation and harm qualify as "hate," why does socialism get a pass?
The Scale of the Horror: A Body Count Beyond Comprehension
The 20th century's socialist experiments — particularly under Marxist-Leninist regimes — produced death tolls that stagger the imagination. Drawing from scholars like R.J. Rummel (who coined "democide" for government-sponsored mass murder of civilians) and compilations like The Black Book of Communism, estimates for deaths attributable to communist regimes range from 85–110 million or more, excluding war casualties.
Soviet Union under Stalin and successors: Around 20–60 million from purges, Gulags, forced collectivization, and engineered famines like the Holodomor.
China under Mao: 35–73 million, including the Great Leap Forward's famine and Cultural Revolution terror.
Cambodia under Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge: Roughly 2 million in a population of 7 million—nearly a third of the nation wiped out in pursuit of agrarian utopia.
Other regimes (North Korea, Vietnam, Eastern Europe, Cuba, Venezuela):
Additional millions through repression, starvation, and executions.
These were not accidents of war but direct outcomes of ideology: class warfare that dehumanised "kulaks," "bourgeoisie," and "counter-revolutionaries" as enemies to be eradicated for the greater good. When utopian promises collided with reality, the solution was terror — liquidation, re-education camps, and forced scarcity. This pattern repeats across disparate contexts, suggesting it's not mere "bad leaders" but the logic of centralised power and class enmity.
Defenders often claim "real socialism has never been tried," distancing "democratic socialism" from Stalin or Mao. But this rings hollow: every large-scale attempt has devolved into authoritarianism, because the ideology demands overriding individual rights for collective ends, inevitably requiring coercion. Meanwhile, defenders apply the same scrutiny to alleged capitalism's flaws — colonialism, exploitation, or indirect deaths from inequality — yet insist socialism's horrors are aberrations.
The Modern Irony: Promoting "Hate" While Accusing Others
Today, self-described socialists lead the charge against "hate": calling opponents racist, fascist, or bigoted for resisting progressive policies. Yet the ideology they champion has, in practice, produced more tyranny and mass death than almost any other. This hypocrisy is stark: platforms ban "hate" from the Right while amplifying socialist voices, and young people embrace it as fairness and equity, often unaware of, or dismissing, the historical ledger.
Labelling socialism a "hate crime" isn't literal legal advocacy; it's a rhetorical challenge to double standards. If "hate" means promoting doctrines that systematically dehumanise and harm groups, socialism qualifies on a scale unmatched by most vilified ideologies. Its class-war rhetoric sows division, justifies violence against "enemies of the people," and has produced rivers of blood when implemented.
A Call for Honest Reckoning
The record speaks for itself: socialism is a doctrine tied to tyranny, mass murder, and suffering on a vast scale. As polls show its appeal rising — especially among those too young to remember the Cold War — we must confront this history unflinchingly. Not to ban ideas, but to demand accountability. If we truly care about preventing hate and atrocity, we cannot cherry-pick which ideologies get moral scrutiny.
The victims of socialism deserve remembrance, not excuses. Until we treat its legacy with the gravity we accord evils like Nazism, the label "hate crime" remains uncomfortably apt. The numbers — and the graves — do not lie. The question isn't whether socialism has killed; it's why we pretend it hasn't.
https://newcriterion.com/dispatch/socialism-is-a-hate-crime/