Nearly half of millennials in the U.S. would rather live under socialism than under a capitalist democracy, according to a new study.

A joint survey by the research firm YouGov and the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation found that nearly 45 percent of millennials would prefer to live in a socialist society, compared to the 42 percent of millennials who said they would rather live in a capitalist one.

Seven percent of millennials took it a step further, responding that they would rather live in a communist society.

Compared to the rest of the population, the percentage of millennials who would rather live in a socialist society over a capitalist one is ten points higher than the general population surveyed.

“Millennials now make up the largest generation in America, and we’re seeing some deeply worrisome trends,” Marion Smith, executive director of the foundation told Fox News. “Millennials are increasingly turning away from capitalism and toward socialism and even communism as a viable alternative.”

In contrast, more than half of baby boomers surveyed responded that they favored capitalism and only 26 percent of boomers supported socialism.

The study also found that one in five Americans in their 20s consider ex-Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin a heroic figure and more than a quarter of those polled thought highly of former dictators Vladimir Lenin and Kim Jong Un.

The survey asked more than 2,000 people about their views regarding socialist and capitalist political systems.

The poll explains that many Americans feel this way about socialism and communism because they are not familiar with its definition. Seven out of ten Americans reported that they do not know the definition of communism and how it differs from socialism.

The same amount of people surveyed also underestimated how many people have been killed under communist regimes.

Lenin, for example, killed 90 million innocent people that included Roman Catholic priests and others who challenged Bolshevik ideology under his watch.

The media have also contributed to this ignorance among Americans about the truth behind communism. The New York Times, for example, featured pieces celebrating or defending it in a section of the paper called “Red Century,” a series of editorials about the 100-year anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia.

The outlet ran a piece hailing Lenin as an environmentalist and published puff pieces on Communist Party officials in the series.

“This troubling turn highlights widespread historical illiteracy in American society regarding socialism and the systemic failure of our education system to teach students about the genocide, destruction, and misery caused by communism since the Bolshevik Revolution one hundred years ago,” Smith said.