Bangladesh, Aug. 15 -- The American right is increasingly divided over a fundamental question: How should conservatives respond to the growing appeal of socialism among younger Americans? One camp believes the answer is to defend free markets more aggressively and remind voters of the virtues of individual responsibility. Another argues that such rhetoric is no longer sufficient because millions of Americans, particularly younger people, are confronting economic conditions that make the traditional promise of upward mobility increasingly difficult to believe.

Vice President J.D. Vance recently captured the second position when he argued that conservatives cannot defeat socialism simply by repeating slogans about capitalism. His point was...