The Capitalism Vs Socialism Debate Remains Alive and Well

The debate between Capitalism vs Socialism is turning a corner. It seems that half of younger Americans are now holding a positive view of capitalism.

Meanwhile, socialism’s appeal continues to grow, mainly from Black Americans and women. 

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Changing Worldview Puts Capitalism Vs Socialism In a Different Light

The ongoing pandemic gave many Americans enough time to revisit their political and economic worldview. During the past year and a half, a number of events ranging from the woke culture to Black Live Matter to the January 6 Capitol riots have reshaped perspectives.

Axios referred to two factors on why Americans are revisiting the capitalism vs socialism debate. One is a renewed focus on society’s inequalities. The other is the perception of the upsides of heightened government intervention.  

Jon Cohen, chief research officer for Momentive, credits the pandemic for the shift in views. “The pandemic is sure to have a lasting impact for decades to come,” he said.

In fact, paradigm shifts are happening on both sides of the aisle right now. It’s not just the left, but the right as well. These are mostly Americans under 35 years of age. 

Positive Capitalism

The June survey conducted by Momentive/Axios showed that 66% of Republicans aged between 18-34 have a positive view of capitalism.

This is a marked decrease from an earlier January 2019 survey where 81% of Republicans had the same opinion.

In addition, 56% of the younger Republican set want the government to pursue policies that reduce the wealth gap. This number is also up from 40% in 2019.

Meanwhile, 49% of Americans aged 18-34 reacted positively to the word “capitalism”. In contrast, 58% did so in 2019.  

Also, American women who see the word “capitalism” as a positive word went down from 51% in 2019 to 48% in 2021.

The 18-34 segment is evenly split on whether or not capitalism is positive or negative (49% positive vs 46% negative). In 2019, the gap was more pronounced at 58% vs 38%.  

Socialism Also Going Up Among Minorities

For socialism, the tables have turned a bit. In 2019, only 39% of all American adults viewed socialism as a positive word. This year, an additional 2% of Americans joined the socialist club.

In 2021, 41% now look at the word “socialism: positively. Broken down, 60% of Black Americans responded positively to the word.

In addition, 45% of American females and 33% of non-white Republicans also felt the same. In contrast, 2019 registered 53%, 41% and 27% respectively. 

Overall, however, perceptions of socialism remain mostly negative, as only 41% of Americans view the world positively. In contrast, 52% see socialism as a negative word. 

Wealth Gap Issues

In other views, 66% of Americans want the federal government to pursue policies that reduce the wealth gap.

This is 4% up from the 2019 results where 61% of Americans thought the same thing. The increase came from all over, as Republicans posted a 5% increase, Democrats has 7%, and independents grew by 2%. 

For Republicans, in particular, the numbers showed that republican shifts in opinion varied by degrees depending on age.

Republicans aged 18-34 registered a large shift in agreeing whether the government should help reduce the wealth gap.

In 2019, only 40% of Republicans in that age bracket agreed. Now, it’s 56% today. The shift levels were much less pronounced on GOP members from 34 years and above. 

Watch Ben Shapiro’s video featuring his Capitalism vs. Socialism Debate with Ana Kasparian:

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Have you changed your view on capitalism vs socialism during the pandemic? Do you think that the US could be better off if they went full capitalism or vice-versa?

Let us know what you think. Share your thoughts on the debate below.