The American public\u2019s take on capitalism<\/em> remains mixed, with just slightly more saying they have a positive (50%) than a negative (40%) reaction to the term. That\u2019s largely <\/p>\n\n unchanged from a 52% to 37% balance of opinion in April 2010.<\/p>\n\n Socialism<\/em> is a negative for most Americans, but certainly not all. Six-in-ten (60%) say they have a negative reaction to the word; 31% have a positive reaction. Those numbers are little changed from when the question was last asked in April 2010.<\/p>\n\n Of these terms, socialism<\/em> is the more politically polarizing \u2013 the reaction is almost universally negative among conservatives, while generally positive among liberals. While there are substantial differences in how liberals and conservatives think of capitalism<\/em>, the gaps are far narrower. Most notably, liberal Democrats and Occupy Wall Street supporters are as likely to view capitalism<\/em> positively as negatively. And even among conservative Republicans and Tea Party supporters there is a significant minority who react negatively to capitalism<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n These are among the findings of the latest national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, conducted Dec. 7-11, 2011 among 1,521 adults that tests reactions to words frequently used in current political discourse. Another term in the news, libertarian<\/em>, continues to receive a mixed public reaction: 38% have a positive view, 37% negative, and nearly a quarter (24%) have no opinion either way. Interestingly, some of the most positive views of libertarianism come from groups on both the left and the right of the political spectrum. People who agree with the Tea Party movement see libertarianism positively by a 51% to 36% margin, as do liberal Democrats by a 47% to 32% margin. And while the word libertarian<\/em> receives a very positive reaction from younger Americans, older people tend to view it negatively.<\/p>\n\n Both of the ideological descriptions used most frequently in American politics \u2013 conservative<\/em> and liberal<\/em> \u2013 receive more positive than negative reactions from the American public. But the positives for conservative<\/em> (62%) are higher than for liberal<\/em> (50%). This gap mainly reflects the balance of what people call themselves; more people consistently call themselves conservative than liberal in public opinion polling. Those who think of themselves as politically \u201cmoderate\u201d give similarly positive assessments to both words.<\/p>\n\n As many Democratic strategists have argued, the term progressive<\/em> receives a far more positive reaction from the American public than the term liberal<\/em> (67% vs 50%), though the difference is primarily among Republicans.<\/p>\n\n The term capitalism<\/em> elicits more positive (50%) than negative (40%) reactions from the American public, but not by much. And while Americans of different incomes and ideological perspectives offer different opinions on capitalism<\/em>, the divides are not as wide as on other terms measured.<\/p>\n\n More affluent Americans, as well as conservative Republicans, are more likely to offer positive than negative reactions to capitalism<\/em> by two-to-one. And among people who agree with the Tea Party movement, 71% view capitalism<\/em> positively.\u00a0 Yet within each of these groups, a quarter or more say they have a negative reaction to capitalism<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n Notably, liberal Democrats and supporters of the Occupy Wall Street movement are not overtly critical of capitalism<\/em>. In fact, as many offer positive as negative reactions in each of these groups.<\/p>\n\n By contrast, socialism<\/em> is a far more divisive word, with wide differences of opinion along racial, generational, socioeconomic and political lines. Fully nine-in-ten conservative Republicans (90%) view socialism<\/em> negatively, while nearly six-in-ten liberal Democrats (59%) react positively. Low-income Americans are twice as likely as higher-income Americans to offer a positive assessment of socialism<\/em> (43% among those with incomes under $30,000, 22% among those earning $75,000 or more).<\/p>\n\n People under age 30 are divided in their views of both capitalism<\/em> and socialism<\/em>. But to Americans age 65 and older, socialism<\/em> is clearly a negative (72%), not a positive (13%), term.<\/p>\n\n The American public remains divided over the word libertarian<\/em>, with 38% offering a positive reaction, 37% a negative reaction, and 24% offering that they don\u2019t have a reaction either way.<\/p>\n\n The steepest divide in reactions to the term libertarian<\/em> are not political but generational.\u00a0 By a 50% to 28% margin, people under age 30 have more positive than negative feelings toward the term libertarian<\/em>. Views are more split among those age 30-64, while those age 65 and older offer more negative (43%) than positive (25%) reactions.<\/p>\n\n Overall, there is only a small partisan divide when it comes to views of libertarianism \u2013 Republicans offer slightly more negative reactions than do Democrats or independents (45% vs. 35% and 37%, respectively). Independents have more positive reactions (44%) than either Republicans (34%) or Democrats (36%).<\/p>\n\n Liberal Democrats offer relatively positive assessments of libertarianism \u2013 47% have a positive reaction and just 32% have a negative reaction. This is matched by the positive ratings among people who agree with the Tea Party movement \u2013 by a 51% to 36% margin they react positively to the word libertarian<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2011\/12\/12-28-11-11.png\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\u2018Socialism\u2019 and \u2018Capitalism\u2019<\/h3>\n\n
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<\/a><\/figure>\n\nMixed Views of \u2018Libertarian\u2019<\/h3>\n\n
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<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\u2018Conservative\u2019 and \u2018Liberal\u2019<\/h3>\n\n
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