Rasmussen CAPITALISM POLL: Stunning Results

Rasmussen Polls:

Only 53% of American adults believe capitalism is better than socialism.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 20% disagree and say socialism is better. Twenty-seven percent (27%) are not sure which is better.

Adults under 30 are essentially evenly divided: 37% prefer capitalism, 33% socialism, and 30% are undecided. Thirty-somethings are a bit more supportive of the free-enterprise approach with 49% for capitalism and 26% for socialism. Adults over 40 strongly favor capitalism, and just 13% of those older Americans believe socialism is better.

Read the whole story: Rasmussen Polls

Comments

[jsgaetano]

Of that 53% who think capitalism is teh bestest thing in teh whole wide world... I wonder what percentage can accurately define what socialism is?

My guess- 0.00000%.

[Mike169]

...and those that can define capitalism? How about 0.0000000%

[swanie]

Did the people taking the poll know the DEFINITIONS OF capitalism and socialism?

Did you give them the definitions?

If no, why not?

If yes, publish your definitions.

Otherwise this is ABSOLUTELY MEANINGLESS DRIVEL ! ! !

[Sundialsvc4]

These kind of polls really test only the public's perception of various "loaded words." The American form of government is a Republic, not a Democracy. And many of its social institutions are what might be called Socialist right now.

But "words are only as good as their interpretation," and it's actually pretty easy to say something or to use a word without actually knowing what you are talking about.

No matter what words you use, the actual business of devising and running a system of government that actually works for ~305 million individuals is a very, very difficult task. And there are governments out there who serve many times that number. Do any of those systems, in practice, match the idealized academic versions of them? Are any of them "purely" one system or another? Inevitably, no and no.

I say, let's first try this: "KA-RUNCH! Take a BITE out of High Crime." Let's tackle our crime-problem first, in our halls of power, and let's start that process by becoming unafraid to use that "C"-word in reference to it. We've got a very malleable system of government that can be whatever we want it to be. Let's start by turning against High Crime anywhere and everywhere that we find it.

[HatingTheGame]

You'd think that with these numbers there would at least be a Social Democratic party in the US, like they have in Europe, but nooooo, the witchhunting and brainwashing by the corporatist, pro-capitalist state in the US has made people afraid to think otherwise. For our softdrinks and tennis shoes we are encouraged to think otherwise (but basically picking the same thing with a different logo), but in our politics we have to choose between two parties that are basically the same. The rest are persecuted and marginalized.

When was the last time you saw a Red under your Bed?

[walk0nwalls]

We've got a resurgence peeps!

Raise the right fist high!

[Americanium]

Capitalism was made by honest men for honest people... What we have today is not capitalism...it is Meism, founded on greed and selfishness...

[marinade]

We need some integrityism.

[Mike169]

Capitalism is premised on a number of suppositions being honest isn't one of them.

[yappnmutt]

a better, more relevant question would be, "is facism or a mixed economy better?"

[timbonotes]

This is a stupid poll. First of all, it uses two loaded terms, socialism and capitalism. Most people don't even realize that the major countries of Western Europe have hybrid economic systems, part capitalist and part socialist, or what I like to call social democracy. Pure socialism is tantamount to communism which we know is a failed system. Like John Maynard Keyes once said, "capitalism is a beast that must be tamed". The best "tamer" is a socialist backdrop, or safety net if you will.

[Tom95134]

This is a generational issue. People who are old enough to have been around during the "dreaded scourge of Communism" and "duck and cover" equate socialism with Communism. However, most younger people look at socialism as a separate entity and recognize that we already live in a society that is partially socialist. They also recognize that social programs are the way that a society provides for those who are not able to provide for themselves. A little socialism, e.g., Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, unemployment insurance, labor unions, etc., is good for business.

Unfortunately, there are those who have been working to destroy programs that are socially responsible which goes all the way back to FDR. Roosevelt wrote in one letter about “the failure of those who have property to realize that I am the best friend the profit system ever had.”.

[ThomasPaineWeNeedYou]

Some great posts I can't believer there aren't more I quess it's Easter.

[gerontion72]

Anarchism is the only solution.

[Retrofuturistic]

Does this mean we can have a revolution now?

[SaltySaltillo]

Great example of how language plays tricks on the mind. When I have to define any political/economic -ism I cannot help but get stuck in a quagmire of impossibility.
The devil is in the institutional details.

There are no "isms" - there are just particular allocations of rights and duties over the means of production that differ from country to country and from time to time. Many "capitalist" countries have specific, totally state-owned sectors, such as hydrocarbons, and certain natural monopolies. On the other hand, 33% of all land in the United States is owned by the federal government. And we still look to the federal government to provide us with highways whereas in many "socialist" countries in Europe the operation of transportation infrastructure is to a greater or lesser extent operated by the private sector.

What is needed is creativity and attention to the institutional details of how our economy is structured - not some jingo-ism "dumb-speak" like "Capitalis­m-vs-socia­lism".

[ThomasPaineWeNeedYou]

Very good post

[PSTEN]

O.E.D. definition Oxford edition.

A theory or system of social organization based on state or collective ownership and regulation of the means of production, distribution, and exchange for the common benefit of all members of society; advocacy or practice of such a system, esp. as a political movement. Now also: any of various systems of liberal social democracy which retain a commitment to social justice and social reform, or feature some degree of state intervention in the running of the economy.

This sounds like a pretty good idea to me. Seems to me that we have a system currently that benefits the wealthy much more and levels the poor and weak to fend for themselves. I'd take a system like Sweden or Germany any day given the excellent healthcare and educational systems they have. Their systems also provide a much narrower gap between rich and poor which is being shown to have unexpected benefits to all. There is an excellent editorial in the NYT, THE New Red State. Worth reading regarding this poll.

[stormgazer]

What I find interesting is that nobody has, as yet, asked if Americans believe that we have democratic capitalism (which we profess) or Corporate Fascism (which is evidenced in practice). I for one would like to see how much of this okie-doke the American public still buys in to.