{"id":51609,"date":"2010-05-04T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2010-05-04T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/2010\/05\/04\/socialism-not-so-negative-capitalism-not-so-positive\/"},"modified":"2024-04-14T04:11:00","modified_gmt":"2024-04-14T09:11:00","slug":"socialism-not-so-negative-capitalism-not-so-positive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/politics\/2010\/05\/04\/socialism-not-so-negative-capitalism-not-so-positive\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cSocialism\u201d Not So Negative, \u201cCapitalism\u201d Not So Positive"},"content":{"rendered":"
Overview<\/h2>\n\n
\u201cSocialism\u201d is a negative for most Americans, but certainly not all Americans. \u201cCapitalism\u201d is regarded positively by a majority of the public, though it is a thin majority. There are certain segments of the public \u2013 notably, young people and Democrats \u2013 where both \u201cisms\u201d are rated about equally. And while most Americans have a negative reaction to the word \u201cmilitia,\u201d the term is viewed more positively by Republican men than most other groups.<\/p>\n\n
These are among the findings of a national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press that tests reactions to words and phrases frequently used in current political discourse. Overall, 29% say they have a positive reaction to the word \u201csocialism,\u201d while 59% react negatively. The public\u2019s impressions of \u201ccapitalism,\u201d though far more positive, are somewhat mixed. Slightly more than half (52%) react positively to the word \u201ccapitalism,\u201d compared with 37% who say they have a negative reaction.<\/p>\n\n<\/figure>\n\n
A large majority of Republicans (77%) react negatively to \u201csocialism,\u201d while 62% have a positive reaction to \u201ccapitalism.\u201d Democrats\u2019 impressions are more divided: In fact, about as many Democrats react positively to \u201csocialism\u201d (44%) as to \u201ccapitalism\u201d (47%).<\/p>\n\n
Reaction to \u201ccapitalism\u201d is lukewarm among many demographic groups. Fewer than half of young people, women, people with lower incomes and those with less education react positively to \u201ccapitalism.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
The survey, conducted April 21-26 among 1,546 adults, measured reactions to nine political words and phrases. The most positive reactions are to \u201cfamily values\u201d (89% positive) and \u201ccivil rights\u201d (87%). About three-quarters see \u201cstates\u2019 rights\u201d (77%) and \u201ccivil liberties\u201d (76%) positively, while 68% have a positive reaction to the word \u201cprogressive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
Reactions to the word \u201clibertarian\u201d are evenly divided \u2013 38% positive, 37% negative. On balance, Republicans view \u201clibertarian\u201d negatively, Democrats are divided, while independents have a positive impression of the term. \u201cMilitia\u201d elicits the most negative reaction of the nine terms tested: Just 21% have a positive reaction compared with 65% who have a negative response.<\/p>\n\n
Partisan Divide over \u201cSocialism\u201d<\/h3>\n\n<\/figure>\n\n
The most striking partisan differences come in reactions to the word \u201csocialism.\u201d Just 15% of Republicans react positively to \u201csocialism\u201d while 77% react negatively. By more than two-to-one (64% to 26%), independents also have a negative impression of \u201csocialism.\u201d However, Democrats are evenly divided \u2013 44% have a positive reaction to \u201csocialism\u201d while 43% react negatively.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cCapitalism\u201d elicits a less partisan reaction. About six-in-ten Republicans (62%) react positively to \u201ccapitalism,\u201d compared with 29% who have a negative reaction. About half of independents (52%) have a positive impression while 39% react negatively. Among Democrats, 47% react positively to \u201ccapitalism\u201d while nearly as many (43%) react negatively.<\/p>\n\n
There is a substantial partisan divide in views of the word \u201cprogressive.\u201d However, majorities of Democrats (81%), independents (64%) and Republicans (56%) have a positive reaction to \u201cprogressive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
More than four-in-ten independents (44%) react positively to the word \u201clibertarian,\u201d while 32% have a negative reaction. Democrats are nearly evenly divided (39% positive, 37% negative). However, Republicans on balance have a negative impression of this term (44% negative, 31% positive).<\/p>\n\n
Majorities of Democrats (70%), independents (66%) and Republicans (59%) react negatively to the word \u201cmilitia.\u201d Nearly twice as many Republicans (27%) as Democrats (15%) have a positive view of this term.<\/p>\n\n
Young People Lukewarm Toward \u201cCapitalism\u201d<\/h3>\n\n
Young people are more positive about \u201csocialism\u201d \u2013 and more negative about \u201ccapitalism\u201d \u2013 than are older Americans. Among those younger than 30, identical percentages react positively to \u201csocialism\u201d and <\/p>\n\n<\/figure>\n\n
\u201ccapitalism\u201d (43% each), while about half react negatively to each. Among older age groups, majorities view \u201csocialism\u201d negatively and \u201ccapitalism\u201d positively.<\/p>\n\n
People 65 and older have a particularly negative reaction to \u201csocialism\u201d \u2013 73% have a negative impression of the term compared with just 14% who are positive. But those 65 and older are no more likely than those ages 30 to 64 to have a positive reaction to \u201ccapitalism\u201d (56% vs. 55%).<\/p>\n\n
More than twice as many blacks as whites react positively to \u201csocialism\u201d (53% vs. 24%). Yet there are no racial differences in views of \u201ccapitalism\u201d \u2013 50% of African Americans and 53% of whites have a positive reaction.<\/p>\n\n
Those with a high school education or less are evenly divided over \u201ccapitalism\u201d (44% positive vs. 42% negative). Among those with some college experience, 49% react positively to \u201ccapitalism\u201d as do 68% of college graduates. Those with a high school education or less are more likely to express a positive view of \u201csocialism\u201d than do those with more education.<\/p>\n\n
People with family incomes of $75,000 or more are the only income group in which a clear majority (66%) reacts positively to the word \u201ccapitalism.\u201d Views of \u201csocialism\u201d also are much more negative among those in this income category (71% negative) \u2013 and those with incomes of $30,000 to $75,000 (64% negative) \u2013 than those with incomes of less than $30,000 (46% negative).<\/p>\n\n
Conservative Republicans stand out for their overwhelmingly negative reactions to \u201csocialism\u201d (84% negative) and highly positive reactions to \u201ccapitalism\u201d (67% positive). No more than about half in other political groups, including moderate and liberal Republicans (51%), have a positive impression of \u201ccapitalism.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
Perhaps surprisingly, opinions about the terms \u201csocialism\u201d and \u201ccapitalism\u201d are not correlated with each other. Most of those who have a positive reaction to \u201csocialism\u201d also have a positive reaction to \u201ccapitalism\u201d; in fact, views of \u201ccapitalism\u201d are about the same among those who react positively to \u201csocialism\u201d as they are among those who react negatively (52% and 56%, respectively, view \u201ccapitalism\u201d positively). Conversely, views of \u201csocialism\u201d are just as negative among those who have a positive reaction to \u201ccapitalism\u201d (64% negative) as those who react negatively (61% negative).<\/p>\n\n
There are some differences in the relationship between these terms by demographic groups, although the association is not particularly strong among any group. For instance, among college graduates, 71% of those with a positive reaction to \u201ccapitalism\u201d have a negative reaction to \u201csocialism.\u201d By contrast, among college graduates who have a negative view of \u201ccapitalism\u201d a smaller proportion have a negative view of \u201csocialism\u201d (51%).<\/p>\n\n
Gender Differences in Views of \u201cMilitia\u201d\n<\/figure>\n<\/h3>\n\n
While the word \u201cmilitia\u201d is viewed negatively, there are gender and partisan differences in reactions to this term. Overall, twice as many men (28%) as women (14%) say they have a positive reaction to the word \u201cmilitia.\u201d In addition, more Republicans (27%) than independents (20%) or Democrats (15%) have positive impressions.<\/p>\n\n
Republican men have a more positive impression of \u201cmilitia\u201d (36% positive) than do Democratic men (19%). Moreover, GOP men have a more positive reaction than do Republican women (18% positive).<\/p>\n\n
There also is a sizeable gender gap in independents\u2019 reactions to \u201cmilitia.\u201d Among independents, 28% of men have a positive reaction to \u201cmilitia,\u201d compared with just 10% of women. The gender differences are more modest among Democrats (19% positive among men vs. 12% among women).<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cSocialism\u201d is a negative for most Americans, but certainly not all Americans. \u201cCapitalism\u201d is regarded positively by a majority of the public, though it is a thin majority. There are certain segments of the public \u2013 notably, young people and Democrats \u2013 where both \u201cisms\u201d are rated about equally. And while most Americans have […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sub_headline":"A Political Rhetoric Test","sub_title":"","_crdt_document":"","_prc_public_revisions":[],"bylines":[],"acknowledgements":[],"displayBylines":true,"relatedPosts":[],"reportMaterials":[],"multiSectionReport":[],"package_parts__enabled":false,"package_parts":[],"_prc_fork_parent":0,"_prc_fork_status":"","_prc_active_fork":0,"datacite_doi":"","datacite_doi_citation":"","_prc_seo_qr_attachment_id":0,"spoken_article_player_enabled":true,"footnotes":""},"categories":[62,236,25,63],"tags":[],"bylines":[],"collection":[],"datasets":[1488],"level_of_effort":[],"primary_audience":[],"information_type":[],"_post_visibility":[],"formats":[458],"_fund_pool":[],"languages":[],"regions-countries":[],"research-teams":[520],"class_list":["post-51609","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-capitalism","category-economic-systems","category-politics-policy","category-socialism","datasets-april-2010-political-futures-survey","formats-report","research-teams-politics"],"label":false,"post_parent":0,"word_count":1036,"canonical_url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/politics\/2010\/05\/04\/socialism-not-so-negative-capitalism-not-so-positive\/","art_direction":false,"_embeds":[],"table_of_contents":[],"report_materials":"","report_pagination":{"current_post":null,"next_post":null,"previous_post":null,"pagination_items":[]},"parent_info":{"parent_title":"\u201cSocialism\u201d Not So Negative, \u201cCapitalism\u201d Not So Positive","parent_id":51609},"materialsOrdered":[],"chaptersOrdered":[],"partsOrdered":[],"partsEnabled":false,"datacite_doi":"","prc_seo_data":{"title":"\u201cSocialism\u201d Not So Negative, \u201cCapitalism\u201d Not So Positive","description":"Overview \u201cSocialism\u201d is a negative for most Americans, but certainly not all Americans. \u201cCapitalism\u201d is regarded positively by a majority of the public, though it is a thin majority. 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