Viewed from Different Engels? Differences in Reactions to “Socialism” as a Policy Label

The supposed popularity of socialism among young Americans has been a trending topic in American political media and campaigns. While evidence from public opinion polls disagrees as to whether is truly gaining popularity, the use term “socialism” had profound impact on policy discussions featured prominent Republican Party strategy 2020 election cycle. This gives rise important questions: How do individuals react socialist label? Does label serve an ideological or affective signal? Are attacks that frame policies effective decreasing support? Using original observational experimental survey data, we find have strong polarized reactions label. However, framing popular social welfare ineffective undermining support. Implications suggest while may trigger polarization, it likely means persuasion. As result, oversaturation lead misleading conclusions about both ideology individual behavior.