Students Support Socialism—Until They Hear About Venezuela

As interest in socialism grows among young Americans, a street interview project in Washington, D.C. is gaining attention for confronting theory with lived experience. The video features conversations between college students and immigrants who fled socialist or communist regimes, particularly Venezuela, Cuba, China, and the former Soviet sphere. The result is a sharp contrast between idealistic support for socialist policies and the warnings of those who say they have already lived through the consequences.

In the footage, interviewers ask Venezuelan immigrants a simple question: what message would they give to young Americans who believe socialism could work in the United States? Their responses are emotional and direct. Several describe shortages of food, economic collapse, and the loss of basic freedoms under socialist governments. “People were eating out of trash bags,” one Venezuelan says, urging Americans to look honestly at Venezuela and Cuba before embracing similar policies.

Others stress that socialism, while appealing in theory, fails in practice because it ignores human incentives and concentrates power. “It doesn’t work the way the books say,” one speaker explains. “It sounds perfect, but humans are not perfect.” Immigrants from China and Russia echo similar warnings, describing religious persecution, censorship, and fear under communist rule. One recounts fleeing China after an underground church was shut down, calling the United States “the last standing place of liberty.”

By contrast, several American students interviewed express sympathy for socialist ideas, often framing them as fairness, equality, or expanded social benefits. Some argue that socialism is misunderstood or unfairly associated with past authoritarian regimes. Others blur distinctions between socialism, communism, and social welfare programs, suggesting that universal benefits and economic equality justify the label.

The interviews also reveal gaps in historical knowledge. Some students struggle to identify political leaders or downplay the death toll associated with communist revolutions. When pressed about historical outcomes in places like the Soviet Union, Maoist China, or Venezuela, a few dismiss the accounts as exaggerated or irrelevant to modern American politics. Critics argue this reflects an education system that emphasizes ideals and slogans over historical consequences.

Beyond socialism, the video touches on broader political issues, including climate change, gun control, capitalism, and free speech. In several exchanges, interviewers challenge students to explain how socialist policies would be funded or implemented without harming productivity. Venezuelan immigrants repeatedly stress that their country once believed “it couldn’t happen there either,” pointing out that Venezuela was once among the wealthiest nations in Latin America.

The project’s creators argue that young Americans are drawn to socialism because they have not experienced scarcity or state repression firsthand. According to this view, socialism promises comfort without responsibility, while minimizing trade-offs and risks. Immigrants interviewed counter that socialism does not remain theoretical—it becomes policy, and policy has consequences.

Supporters of socialist policies say the comparison is unfair, noting that the United States has stronger institutions and democratic safeguards. Critics respond that many failed socialist states once believed the same. “Countries don’t slowly decline,” one speaker warns. “They collapse.”

While opinions remain deeply divided, the video has sparked renewed debate over economic systems, historical memory, and political education. Whether viewers agree or disagree, the interviews highlight a growing disconnect between abstract political ideals and the experiences of those who have lived under the systems being debated—raising the question of whether history is being ignored just as its lessons are most needed.