U.S. Views on 'Captialism' Term Slip Slightly, 'Socialism' Inches Up
![The nation remains divided on views towards capitalism and socialism even after the Occupy Wall Street movement.](https://d.medicaldaily.com/en/full/222522/nation-remains-divided-views-towards-capitalism-socialism-even-after-occupy-wall-street.jpg?w=670&f=bbacd2f4a954c46d18c0fe35f2e41a58)
With the recent public focus on the Occupy Wall Street movement’s protests against the excesses of the U.S. free market system, a new survey by Pew released Wednesday finds a slightly increased public negativity towards the term “capitalism” and positivity for the term “socialism.”
The nation’s take on capitalism is still mixed, with 50 percent having a positive reaction to the term and 40 percent with a negative reaction. These percentages are largely unaffected compared to views prior to the Occupy Movement in April 2010 when 52 percent of respondents had a positive view and 37 percent had a negative view towards the term “capitalism”.
The term “socialism” is negative for most Americans, and 60 percent say that they have a negative reaction to the word compared to 31 percent who have a positive reaction. These percentages have also generally stayed the same compared to April 2010.
Wealthier Americans and conservative Republicans are more likely to report more positive than negative reactions to capitalism, and have a negative view towards socialism. Lower income Americans are twice as likely compared to the wealthier to offer a positive evaluation of socialism.
About 68 percent of Americans with annual income above $75,000 and 66 percent of conservative Republicans express positivity towards capitalism, and 71 percent of Tea Party supporters view capitalism positively.
Only about 39 percent of Americans who earn less than $30,000 view capitalism positively and about 43 percent view socialism positively.
Blacks and Hispanics are more likely to view “socialism” positively and “capitalism” negatively compared to whites.
About 55 percent of Hispanics and 51 percent of blacks view capitalism negatively, and 44 percent of Hispanics and 55 percent of blacks view socialism positively compared to 55 percent of whites viewing capitalism positively and 24 percent saw socialism negatively.
Liberal Democrats and Occupy Wall Street supporters are not particularly critical of capitalism, and many offer positive and negative assessments to the term, but 59 percent of liberal Democrats react positively towards the term socialism whereas 90 percent of conservative Republicans reflect negative views towards socialism.
Younger Americans under the age of 30 are divided in their views of capitalism and socialism, but 72 percent of older Americans who are 65 or older react negatively and only 13 percent react positively towards socialism.