Americans can’t seem to get on the same page when it comes to what defines socialism even though new polling shows the movement’s favorability is at an all-time high.

Whether far-left factions are able to rally around the label could come down to understand its principles.

Fox News Digital took to the streets of a Maryland liberal hotspot, Takoma Park, for its annual street festival to talk with attendees about their definitions of socialism and how far they would be willing to go to embrace its ideals.

“The fact is that there’s no…one answer,” Nina Gilden Seavey said when asked to define socialism.

“Just the idea of like, you’ve been paying all these things to set up these programs and then you’re actually giving them to the people,” Jaw Blake said describing his view of the political movement. “It’s not a special group that gets to have them, it’s just available.”

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Jenny Sniderman had a more direct answer, claiming that “public libraries, the police department, the fire department, all our public services, utilities,” are all part of what makes up socialism.

A September Gallup poll found that 43% of Americans have a positive image of socialism — the highest level since the polling organization began tracking the question in 2010.

But the survey asks respondents their image of socialism without providing a definition of the ideology or asking whether they would actually support adopting it in the U.S.

The same festival-goers were pressed on socialism as an economic system, questioning their favorability of collective ownership. They shared some skepticism when Fox News Digital asked whether they would personally surrender their private property to government or collective control.

“Do I want to give up my private property? Of course I don’t want to give up my private property,” Sniderman said. “Are they going to reimburse me fairly? That would be helpful in making my choice.”

“I don’t know that I would necessarily love it,” Blake said. “But I mean, if it was something that was beneficial, I’d at least consider it.”

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“Nobody wants what they have to be taken away from them,” he continued. “But there is something to be said about…you can set up things so that they’re available for everybody.”

“I think the government is not the greatest steward…of assets,” Seavey said. “It’s not to say that capitalism is somehow without flaw, but the fact is that there is an idealism that can come from thinking, ‘Oh, if we had some more centrality, if…there was some kind of uber organization in charge of reallocation.'”

Documentary filmmaker and self-described historian Seavey also questioned the idea of government control over private assets, but argued that the growing democratic socialist movement in the U.S. should not be confused with traditional socialism.

“This is not socialism. This is democratic socialism. It’s different. There’s socialism, there’s communism, there are all kinds of ‘isms.’ Democratic socialism is essentially what we have a growing movement in this country,” Seavey said.

“Socialism is where there is a massive redistribution of wealth. We are not having redistribution of wealth in this country.”

But the Democratic Socialists of America, the largest socialist organization in the U.S., advocates redistributing wealth from wealthy individuals and corporations to workers and lower-income Americans. The DSA also calls for public stake in major corporations and essential industries rather than private ownership.

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The differing interpretations among festival-goers reflect a broader debate over what socialism means in America — one that has taken on new political significance as socialist candidates gain ground within the Democratic Party heading into midterm elections.

In a 2018 survey asking Americans to define socialism in their own words, just 17% described it in terms of government ownership or control of businesses or the means of production. Another 23% associated it with equality, while 10% pointed to social benefits and services. Nearly a quarter could not provide an answer.

Seavey argued that political labels themselves have distorted the conversation.

“Let’s think about it differently and let’s take away these ridiculous stigmas that have to do with these crazy labels that we have allowed the right wing to foment onto the rest of America,” Seavey said.

But as socialist-aligned candidates compete for office, the growing movement raises a question that favorable polling alone cannot answer: whether voters are embracing its promises on affordability and equality, or also support its broader proposals for economic ownership and control.

A new proposal that could bring driverless rideshare vehicles to the streets of the nation’s capital is causing an uproar among union workers, drivers and religious leaders who fear the technology could eliminate jobs.

Protesters gathered outside the John Wilson Building as D.C. council members met to discuss legislation that would allow Waymo and other autonomous vehicle operators to offer commercial rides in Washington, D.C. The protesters urged the council to reject the legislation, arguing that an influx of robotaxis would displace rideshare drivers.

“We came out here today strongly because we feel that these robotaxis will put people out of work,” one protester told Fox News Digital. “And people need jobs.”

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“I’m against robotaxis because it takes away from the community, it takes away from their jobs, it takes away food from their table,” Frederick from Virginia said.

He continued, “People need jobs to be able to support their family.”

“It’s bulls – – -,” Sabrina from Washington, D.C., said. “Let’s not bring robots taking my neighbor’s jobs. My folks that drive for a living, let’s just not take their jobs.”

Another person at the protest acknowledged that autonomous vehicles could eliminate some driving jobs but argued the city should “take the offensive” by shortening the workweek without cutting pay and expanding employment elsewhere.

“We should take the offensive on job issues,” Michael from Washington, D.C., said. “We should shorten the workweek, without a loss in pay. So we’ll create more jobs in public transportation, in hospitals, in service industries. So we actually maybe will lose some jobs to taxi drivers, but we’ll create better paying jobs.”

The Autonomous Vehicle Deployment Authorization Amendment Act of 2026 — introduced by Councilmember Charles Allen in May — would create a program for commercial autonomous vehicles in D.C. that would be run by the District Department of Transportation.

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Waymo says its latest safety data, covering more than 270 million miles of autonomous driving, shows its vehicles were involved in 82% fewer injury-causing crashes and 95% fewer crashes involving serious injuries or worse compared with human-driver benchmarks in the same operating areas.

Supporters of robotaxis have also pointed to the potential for lower fares without a human driver, although current comparisons have found Waymo’s prices can vary widely and are not consistently cheaper than traditional rideshare services like Uber and Lyft.

Protesters claimed that while prices may be lower as the driverless vehicles roll out, the rates will eventually spike.

“That’s just something just to…get our antennas up and have us saying, ‘Yeah, ooo, we’re gonna get cheaper rides,’” Sabrina said. “It might be cheap for the trial periods, and then all of a sudden we’ll be paying $50. So no, I don’t believe that. That’s just some crap just to get people engaged with the Waymo.”

“They seem the same price to me,” Helen from Maryland said. “They’re in other cities and it seems like not much of a difference in the pricing.”

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The proposed regulatory framework, which could bring robotaxis to the city by 2028, would initially limit operators to 200 vehicles. Companies seeking commercial permits would have to demonstrate at least 180 days and 250,000 miles of autonomous vehicle testing in the District and submit plans aimed at reducing disparities in service availability and wait times across the city’s eight wards.

There was a public hearing on the bill in July, but no vote has been scheduled. The bill would have to be approved by the entire council before self-driving cars start to hit the city’s streets.

“A worker should be at the table,” Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO President Samuel Epps told Fox News Digital at the protest. “We shouldn’t rush this.”

“I don’t think it’s good for the city,” Eddie said. “If my children gonna get in a car, I would prefer for a human to be driving.”

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The Senate’s most recognizable rogue Democrat has increasingly broken with his party since Republicans took control of the upper chamber, but he still votes with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., a majority of the time. 

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., is the Senate’s biggest enigma during a time of hyper-partisanship — he bucks his party on key issues, like the war in Iran and immigration, but continues to vote with Democrats an overwhelming amount of the time.

Since joining the Senate in 2023, Fetterman has voted with Senate Democrats nearly 90% of the time, a figure that stacks up closely to some of the most staunch party liners in the caucus. Still, speculation has swirled as to whether he’ll jump the political shark and become a Republican. 

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Despite that, Fetterman has set the terms clearly this year, arguing that if Democrats continued to turn their backs on Israel, he would leave the party. But some in the GOP believe that no matter the swirl percolating in Washington, D.C., Fetterman isn’t swapping jerseys. He’s also keeping the speculation heavy about whether he will run for another term.

“John Fetterman is a staunch Democrat that votes with his party 96% of the time, anybody who seriously believes that he is going to switch to the Republican Party is thinking wishfully,” a senior Republican aide told Fox News Digital.

Fetterman’s national political career began as a politician armed with an endorsement for Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., running in a pivotal race in 2022 against Dr. Mehmet Oz.

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Sanders told the Associated Press at the time that “if there’s any candidate who was running more than anybody else, who identified with the working class, who made it clear that he was going to Washington to represent working people, it was John Fetterman.”

He flipped that seat, giving Democrats one of the slimmest majorities in history and cementing himself as a rock star in the party.

Since then, he’s run away from Sanders’ ideals and often rejected Schumer and the caucus’ marching orders.

But this year he’s leaned into that grey area, sometimes known as being a centrist, to support Republican ideals. During this session of Congress, Fetterman has broken from Democrats more than ever before, dropping to just under 81% along Democratic Party lines. 

And while that’s happening, Fetterman is reportedly using Republican fundraising platforms to soak up precious donor dollars, is close friends with one of the GOP’s own rock stars, Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., made a video message introducing McCormick at the RNC and even accidentally called himself a lifelong Republican during an appearance at the Texas Tribune’s Tribfest last month.

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But when asked about whether he’s considering leaving the party, even after drawing a line in the sand, he recoils — it’s become such a hot topic in the hallways of the Senate that Fetterman stopped taking questions.

As to whether he would jump ship depending on the outcome of the upcoming election, Fetterman said during the event that “there are no Republicans with a 90% Democratic vote line. There are no pro-choice, there’s no pro-gay community, that does not exist in the Republican Party.”

“How many times do I have to say it? And that’s the point. So wait until after the midterms and see what happens,” Fetterman said. “And now, if we do win, and I’m 51, people can remember, ‘hey, that’s why it’s mathematically possible to retain the majority,’ because I was able to win a state like Pennsylvania.”

Fetterman’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

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