Just 53% Say Capitalism Better Than Socialism

Only 53% of American adults believe capitalism is better than socialism. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 20% disagree and say socialism is better. Twenty-seven percent (27%) are not sure which is better. Adults under 30 are essentially evenly divided: 37% prefer capitalism, 33% socialism, and 30% are undecided.

www.rasmussenreports.com...

Is America's youth becoming more open to socialism or at least socialist policies? It looks like it. My question to you capitalists out there is, how would you respond if a democratically elected socialist representative started implementing socialist policies? Wouldn't that be "fair" in a republican form of government? We can debate whether or not a republic or a the democratic process is fair to begin with.

"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote!"

So how would you react? Would you grudgingly accept that the times are changing? Would you attempt to have your state secede from the Union? Or would you launch a guerrilla war against the federal government?

I want to note that it is possible to have a libertarian form of socialism as advocated by Noam Chomsky. This is rarely discussed and could be the answer to many grievances against socialism as being a vehichle for the state to take away your personal liberties.

en.wikipedia.org...




[edit on 29-10-2009 by The Transhumanist]

I have always wondered how accurate any official poll is..
I have never been asked any questions by someone claiming to
take a poll, nor do I know anyone who has been approached, with
"hi, were taking a poll"...

even on family feud when they claim, "The Survey Says"!!!!!

I cant help but think BS.

I think numbers are assumed, dreamed up or fudged.
Mmmmmmmmfudge.

anyways....people (in this case capitalists) WOULD in fact complain. no matter what.

people always complain when their side loses.
plus the fear mongering of things being different.


cue the obama rants 3...2...1....


[edit on 29-10-2009 by ELECTRICkoolaidZOMBIEtest]

there are so many contnridictions anymore its bound to erupt into armed conflict dont you think.

reply to post by keepureye2thesky


I have done polling work, and have had calls regarding polls. But they take a small sample and extrapolate. It would take far too long to poll all of us, and well voting should answer how the general populace feels.

The op's point, I asked a friend of mine about that. He was very upset obama had been voted in and thought his country was being ruined. I think maybe in his worldview, the country as he knows it is being changed in ways he's not very comfortable with.

My reaction to Bush being re elected in 2004 was on of almost incredulous disbelief. To me it defied all reason and perspective, but I did accept it.

reply to post by The Transhumanist


You are right that the children are being brain washed to love socialism. They get everything handed to them and they are taught that it is ok to play a sport where nobody wins. It is trullly sad what people allow their children to be taught. We need to be better parents.

I have been going through my kids school books this year and reteaching them where the school is teaching them wrong. It is very subtle how they do it, but I have actually had to teach my kids things like illegal immigrants are not victims of Americans, but rather Americans are victims of these law breakers and also that the Progressives of the past were not the good guys and they still are not.

[edit on 29-10-2009 by Fartman]

Yeah, well, cut off the welfare, food stamps, housing assistance, free clinics, medicaid, and subsidized transportation, and watch those numbers run up around the 99% mark.

Nothing like hunger to make you get off your ass and start hustling some work.

Capitalism at it's finest.

reply to post by The Transhumanist


I think its because the American people had a wake up call. The Bailouts took place and suddenly everyone got a glimpse of the man behind the curtain and they realized that no matter who was president, no matter what those in charge said about our economic or governmental leanings, the American people would always loose and the Fed and the Banksters and corporations would always be the highest priority.

We got a little glimpse of TPTB and many in this nation who were paying attention smelled a rat and realized the wool was being pulled over their eyes. I think the nation as a whole is entirely disenchanted with politics and is slowly realizing it was all a scam (though some will stay asleep).

A lot of people are awakening to the fact that they have nothing and that the top 1% have Trillions and get even richer when they make mistakes and cause the economy to collapse...

You know what poll I would like to see? One that shows how many americans even understand what socialism is, or better yet what a democratic republic is.

Capitalism, Socialism, Fascism, Marxism, etc. = same thing.

There's always the few that control the many no matter what the circumstances are.

reply to post by Emerald The Paradigm


I agree with your statement. There will always be a few in control. However, of these systems Capitalism is the the best for two reasons. It gives you the opportunity to move up into the upper tier based on your own talents and capitalism breeds rapid innovation.

[edit on 29-10-2009 by Fartman]

reply to post by benrl


Heck I would just like to see a poll where they determined how many people in the Obama admin knew what a democratic republic is.

Why do so many people support Socialism? Because, who wouldn't want everything just given to them instead of having to work for it.

I think however people are angry against corporatism and not capitalism. People are sick of our tax money being given to companies that should have failed.

But instead the last administration, and this one, prolonged this recession by bailing out failed businesses.

reply to post by The Transhumanist


America's youth?

We've been engaging in socialist policies for the past 70 years, while treating both communism and socialism like some scourge upon the earth. Again, while doing it ourselves.

Our current economy is a prime example of a negative for Capitalism.

reply to post by Miraj


I would have to state here that what we've been practicing is far from socialism actually. Just as I believe the ussr was not socialist.

I had a russian exchange worker friend I played chess with and this topic came up. I asked him why they failed. His response was taken from what he called their thinkers(he didn't name them). They postulated that we're not ready for true socialism. The ability to game and manipulate the system is too great for those driven to politics and government. I think we agreed this was true in both our countries.

reply to post by Emerald The Paradigm

Capitalism, Socialism, Fascism, Marxism, etc. = same thing. There's always the few that control the many no matter what the circumstances are.

Check out the link to libertarian socialism. It's an interesting concept.

Originally posted by Tomis_Nexis
Our current economy is a prime example of a negative for Capitalism.

The fact that our country has remained the same form of government for over 200 years, is a prime example of a positive for Capitalism. Not to mention the fact that we are the wealthiest country on Earth, healthiest country on Earth, and most looked up to country on Earth.

You really wanna be born and assigned a job, told what to do? Told how much your going to make? Never have any chance to do what you want with your life or live your dreams?

Capitalism and our Constitutional Republic is the greatest on Earth. Surely we are going to have ups and downs, like now, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

As someone who lives in a Socialist country (Vietnam) and someone who has travelled to places like Burma and North Korea, I can say that Socialism is NOT good. Socialism translates into no middle class, everyone is poor apart from the small group of ruling/government class.


Those who want socialism are truly naive and I say this as an reformed idealist. A few months ago, when I was employed, I was paying 25% of my salary in a progressive tax system. You may think that is low and that you pay more in Western countries but remember I get nothing for this. The roads are dangerous, the medical care is atrocious.

Capitalism may not be perfect but Socialism is not the answer. Abolishing Income tax is the answer, go Ron Paul!

I think its really important to consider that Capitalism and Socialism are not mutually exclusive.

That is to say, the majority of the world's developed nations currently enjoy a mixture of Capitalism and Socialism... including the United States.


I, too, would like to see a study done to assess how many Americans actually understand what Socialism actually is. Based on what I have seen on this site, what I have observed in my everyday life, and what I have seen in the media, I would imagine fewer than 10% of Americans actually understand the definition of Socialism:

Socialism refers to various theories of economic organization advocating public or direct worker ownership and administration of the means of production and allocation of resources, and a society characterized by equal access to resources for all individuals with a method of compensation based on the amount of labor expended.

I think the main reason people in this country are so afraid of Socialism is that they don't understand that we already have it. That, compounded with the mass-media influenced lack of understanding of what Socialism actually is, has led to a retaliation against the idea, especially among politically right-leaning individuals.

Our roads are socialist. We have socialist transportation. We have a socialized police department, a socialized fire department, and a socialized military. We send our children to a socialized school system (the vast majority of us), and we get our mail through a socialized postal system.

It really is pathetic, but people would rather believe what they hear from Fox "News" then learn what these things are for themselves.