Meet The Young People Against Socialism in America

Socialism is reviving in the United States. From Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and New York City Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to the Democratic Socialists of America and Seattle City council member Kshama Sawant of Socialist Alternative, a red wave has been gradually rising nationwide, especially amongst younger generations. But recently, one new conservative youth group is taking on socialism through grassroots activism and an expanding social media presence.

In August 2019, Young Americans Against Socialism (YAAS) launched as a nonpartisan 501c3 nonprofit to educate young people between the ages of 18 years old and 35 years old about the negatives of socialism in a historical and contemporary context. With more than 60,000 followers on Facebook, more than 17,000 followers on Instagram, almost 60,000 views on YouTube, and more than 27,000 followers on Twitter, the organization has had about 30 million impressions on its major social media platforms.

“We are working to bring young Americans together to achieve results and reject the failure that is socialism,” said Morgan Zegers, CEO, and founder of YAAS. “Our short term goals include growing our reach and building our brand among young Americans. Our long term goal is to secure a strong and safe America for many generations to come by completely changing the way our generation views socialism.”

When asked about income inequalities persistent in the modern economy, Zegers told College Media Network that while modern capitalism is not always perfect, it is a better system than socialism or communism due to higher standards of living a majority of Americans have or obtained. “We can understand the frustrations that many young Americans have with our current economic system especially after having lived through one of the worst economic crises in America’s history”, Zegers said. “But Leftist politicians are taking advantage of those frustrations to advance their own political agendas.”

As socialism continues to rise slowly amongst the American public, Zegers and her organization YAAS will utilize education and digital media to get their message across the nationwide. Other conservative youth organizations that have gained traction, as well as controversy, on several college and university campuses have recently included Turning Point USA, Young Americans for Freedom, Young Americans Foundation, Young Americans for Liberty, Students for Liberty, Students for Concealed Carry, Intercollegiate Studies Institute, The Federalist Society, Students for Life of America, College Libertarians, and College Republicans.