[Peace-discuss] Fw: Capitalism vs. Socialism: Big Surprises in Recent Polls

[John W.]

So why the fuck can't we just have a hybrid of capitalism and socialism, as
other more enlightened countries do?  Never mind - no need to answer that.
:-(



On Thu, May 20, 2010 at 6:21 AM, unionyes <unionyes at ameritech.net> wrote:



> ----- Original Message ----- From: <moderator at PORTSIDE.ORG>
> To: <PORTSIDE at LISTS.PORTSIDE.ORG>
> Sent: Wednesday, May 19, 2010 9:50 PM
> Subject: Capitalism vs. Socialism: Big Surprises in Recent Polls
>
>
> Capitalism vs. Socialism: Big Surprises in Recent Polls
>>
>> By Charles Derber
>> CommonDreams
>> May 18, 2010
>>
>> http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/05/18-3
>>
>> According to the conventional wisdom, the US is a
>> center-Right country. But a new poll by Pew casts doubt
>> on that idea. It shows widespread skepticism about
>> capitalism and hints that support for socialist
>> alternatives is emerging as a majoritarian force in
>> America's new generation.
>>
>> Carried out in late April and published May 4, 2010,
>> the Pew poll, arguably by the most respected polling
>> company in the country, asked over 1500 randomly
>> selected Americans to describe their reactions to terms
>> such as "capitalism," "socialism," "progressive,"
>> "libertarian" and "militia." The most striking findings
>> concern "capitalism" and "socialism." We cannot be sure
>> what people mean by these terms, so the results have to
>> be interpreted cautiously and in the context of more
>> specific attitudes on concrete issues, as discussed
>> later.
>>
>> Pew summarizes the results in its poll title:
>> "Socialism not so negative; capitalism not so
>> positive." This turns out to be an understatement of
>> the drama in some of the underlying data.
>>
>> Yes, "capitalism" is still viewed positively by a
>> majority of Americans. But it is just by a bare
>> majority. Only 52% of all Americans react positively.
>> Thirty-seven percent say they have a negative reaction
>> and the rest aren't sure.
>>
>> A year ago, a Rasmussen poll found similar reactions.
>> Then, only 53% of Americans described capitalism as
>> "superior" to socialism.
>>
>> Meanwhile, 29% in the Pew poll describe "socialism" as
>> positive. This positive percent soars much higher when
>> you look at key sub-groups, as discussed shortly. A
>> 2010 Gallup poll found 37% of all Americans preferring
>> socialism as "superior" to capitalism.
>>
>> Keep in mind these findings reflect an overview of the
>> public mind when Right wing views seem at a high point
>> - with the Tea Party often cast as a barometer of
>> American public opinion. The polls in this era do not
>> suggest a socialist country, but not a capitalist-
>> loving one either. This is not a "Center-Right" America
>> but a populace where almost 50% are deeply ambivalent
>> or clearly opposed to capitalism. Republicans and the
>> Tea Party would likely call that a Communist country.
>>
>> The story gets more interesting when you look at two
>> vital sub-groups. One is young people, the "millennial
>> generation" currently between 18 and 30. In the Pew
>> poll, just 43% of Americans under 30 describe
>> "capitalism" as positive. Even more striking, the same
>> percentage, 43%, describes "socialism" as positive. In
>> other words, the new generation is equally divided
>> between capitalism and socialism.
>>
>> The Pew, Gallup and Rasmussen polls come to the same
>> conclusion. Young people cannot be characterized as a
>> capitalist generation. They are half capitalist and
>> half socialist. Since the socialist leaning keeps
>> rising among the young, it suggests-depending on how
>> you interpret "socialism"-that we are moving toward an
>> America that is either Center-Left or actually
>> majoritarian socialist.
>>
>> Turn now to Republicans and Democrats. Sixty-two
>> percent of Republicans in the Pew poll view capitalism
>> as positive, although 81 % view "free markets" as
>> positive, suggesting a sensible distinction in their
>> mind between capitalism and free markets. Even
>> Republicans prefer small to big business and are
>> divided about big business, which many correctly see as
>> a monopolistic force of capitalism undermining free
>> markets.
>>
>> The more interesting story, though, is about Democrats.
>> We hear endlessly about Blue Dog Democrats. But the Pew
>> poll shows a surprisingly progressive Democratic base.
>> Democrats are almost equally split in their appraisal
>> of capitalism and socialism. Forty-seven percent see
>> capitalism as positive but 53% do not. And 44% of
>> Democrats define socialism as positive, linking their
>> negativity about capitalism to a positive affirmation
>> of socialism.
>>
>> Moreover, many other subgroups react negatively to
>> capitalism. Less than 50% of women, low-income groups
>> and less-educated groups describe capitalism as
>> positive.
>>
>> So much for the view that Obama does not have a strong
>> progressive base to mobilize. In fact, "progressive,'
>> according to the Pew poll, is one of the most positive
>> terms in the American political lexicon, with a
>> substantial majority of almost all sub-groups defining
>> it as positive.
>>
>> You may conclude that this all add ups to little, since
>> we can't be clear about how people are defining
>> "capitalism" and "socialism." But in my own research,
>> summarized in recent books such as The New Feminized
>> Majority and Morality Wars, attitudes registered in
>> polls toward concrete issues over the last thirty years
>> support the interpretation of the Pew data, at minimum,
>> as evidence of a Center-Left country.
>>
>> On nearly every major issue, from support minimum wage
>> and unions, preference for diplomacy over force, deep
>> concern for the environment, belief that big business
>> is corrupting democracy, and support for many major
>> social programs including Social Security and Medicare,
>> the progressive position has been strong and relatively
>> stable. If "socialism" means support for these issues,
>> the interpretation of the Pew poll is a Center-Left
>> country.
>>
>> If socialism means a search for a genuine systemic
>> alternative, then America, particularly its youth, is
>> emerging as a majoritarian social democracy, or in a
>> majoritarian search for a more cooperativist, green,
>> and more peaceful and socially just order.
>>
>> Either interpretation is hopeful. It should give
>> progressives assurance that even in the "Age of the Tea
>> Party," despite great dangers and growing concentrated
>> corporate power and wealth, there is a strong base for
>> progressive politics. We have to mobilize the majority
>> population to recognize its own possibilities and turn
>> up the heat on the Obama Administration and a
>> demoralized Democratic Party. If we fail, the Right
>> will take up the slack and impose its monopoly
>> capitalist will on a reluctant populace.
>>
>> Charles Derber, professor of sociology at Boston
>> College and author of Corporation Nation and Greed to
>> Green. He is on the Majority Agenda Project's
>> coordinating committee (
>> http://MajorityAgendaProject.org <http://majorityagendaproject.org/>,
>> info at majorityagendaproject.org)
>
>

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