In the 2020 email correspondence to Mark Zuckerberg and Marc Andreessen, Thiel wrote that “if one has no stake in the capitalist system, then one may well turn against it.” Thiel also implied that he was taking the millennial generation’s then-well-publicized turn toward socialism seriously, writing of a “broken generational compact.”
While Mamdami’s win represents a leap forward for progressive politicians, it’s too soon to say definitively that young people are broadly leaning leftward. President Trump made major strides with young people in 2024, capturing 46% of voters ages 18 to 29, compared to 36% when he ran in 2020, according to the Tufts Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement.
Still, Thiel’s 2020 note made clear that any rejection of the U.S. capitalist system in young people should not be taken lightly.
“I would be the last person to advocate for socialism. But when 70% of Millennials say they are pro-socialist, we need to do better than simply dismiss them by saying that they are stupid or entitled or brainwashed; we should try and understand why,” he wrote.
