The numbers of communists in the United States have been rising and has been making its way onto campus. 

Eric Goodman, an advocate for the Revolutionary Communist of America, said he came to the school to talk to students about the new socialist party. He said that the capitalist system adopted by the United States overproduces goods but doesn’t give back since it is not profitable. 

“Communism basically means an economy that works for people and not for profit,” Goodman said. 

He said that Communism, to him, adopts a democratic rationale that works to empower people to live without needing capitalist powers. 

A study done by Jason Clemens and Steven Globerman, journalists at the Daily Caller and co-leaders of the ‘Realities of Socialism’ project, showed more people have started to agree with socialism in the U.S. 

“The total agreement (strongly agree and agree) that socialism is the ideal economic system amongst the 18-34 cohort ranged from 43% in the United States to 53% in the United Kingdome,” they reported. 

Christopher Roth, a Business Major on campus, said that he does support communism and would consider himself a “big capitalist guy.” 

He said that, although there are good aspects to these forms of society, he does not see it working long-term and finds there to be bigger issues arising. 

“I think there’s aspects of it that are not realistic,” he said. “I know in communism everyone is equal, everyone is a comrade, everyone is on level terms.” 

He said that this type of society is not possible and that there is always someone on top. 

“The reality of it is, no matter what society you have, someone will always be on top and someone will always be on the bottom,” Roth said. 

He said that the biggest flaw is that, in any type of societal system, people will always take advantages and try to be at the top. He said a communistic society is not achieveable. 

While some disagree, Sociology Professor, John O’Connor, said he leans more toward a socialist society and said people would benefit from learning a different point of view. 

He said that a socialist society would look at the Marxist Theory and that it is the most sophisticated theory society has. 

“Marxism is really about the critique of capitalism and also forces us to think about what a non-capitalist future might look like,” he said. 

O’Connor said he supports left-wing causes and is happy to see people like the RCA on campus. He said groups like this cause people to think about different questions and other perspectives. 

“Whether we agree or disagree with those things, that’s for people to ultimately decide,” he said. “But I think that any organization that puts forward different ideas from the status quo, from the mainstream, should be celebrated.” 

O’Connor said that it is important to learn about capitalism in society and think critically about communism in other countries. He said communism is something that should be explored because history isn’t black and white, and he emphasized that people should do an in-depth reading on their own.