Gen-Z socialism, from Zohran to Zack and beyond
Jun 4th 2026|10 min read
DIFFERENT TIMES inspire different sets of leftist ideas. After the second world war, especially in Europe, socialism drew strength from heavily unionised heavy industry. It aimed not to abolish capitalism but to manage it, by nationalising utilities and redistributing income widely. After the financial crisis of 2007-09 “millennial socialists”, as The Economist dubbed them, argued that the post-war European model had created leaders too distant from ordinary workers and too complacent about climate change. Their solution was to put workers on company boards, create employee-owned co-operatives and subsidise green technology, all to create a more durable, fairer and greener capitalism.
This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “Gen-Z socialism”
From the June 6th 2026 edition
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