Americans give capitalism its lowest ever rating in new Gallup survey
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
The lowest share of Americans ever view capitalism positively and big business rates even worse in new Gallup data released Monday.
Why it matters: Americans' souring attitudes toward capitalism and corporations reflects a growing unease with the economy, rising inflation and a stagnating job market.
- In another recent poll, 70% of U.S. adults said they had no faith in the American dream of hard work paying off.
By the numbers: A slim majority of Americans — 54% — said they have positive ratings of capitalism, down from 60% in 2021.
- Perceptions of socialism — currently 39% positive — have not changed significantly since polling began in 2010.
State of play: For the first time, fewer than half of Democrats view capitalism positively. They're also the only political group to view socialism more positively than capitalism.
- Ratings of "big business" have dropped significantly, especially among Democrats.
- However, Americans remain overwhelmingly supportive of small business and free enterprise despite their skepticism of larger market forces.
Zoom in: 42% of Democrats and 74% of Republicans have positive views toward capitalism.
- 17% of Democrats said they had a positive image of big business, compared to 60% of Republicans.
What they're saying: "Democrats' more positive views of socialism occur at a time when many high-profile Democratic officials...have identified themselves as Democratic socialists and advocated policies calling for a significantly expanded government role in economic matters," the Gallup report said.
- Those politicians include Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani.
Go deeper: Trump's pay-me capitalism puts the squeeze on corporate America
Methodology: A poll of 1,094 U.S. adults conducted Aug. 1-20. The margin of error is ±4 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.
