Key Takeaways
- Advocates for more economic freedom should use the term “big-government socialism” when describing the status-quo policies of the progressive left, and “free market capitalism” when describing their policies.
- This is because voters primarily associate big-government socialism with government control, while socialism is also associated with equality and community. Likewise, voters associate free-market capitalism with freedom, while capitalism is also associated with money and greed.
- Americans don’t want the country to become more capitalist, but they do want it to become more free-market capitalist.
- Americans see themselves as much closer to Donald Trump and Republicans and further away from Biden and Democrats on their preference for big-government socialism or free-market capitalism than they do on their preference for socialism or capitalism.
Free-market capitalism is seen more positively by voters than capitalism, and big-government socialism is seen by voters more negatively than socialism.
- More voters also blame big-government socialism than free-market capitalism for inflation, whereas more voters blame capitalism than socialism for inflation.
WHY IT MATTERS
We are in a time of high economic dissatisfaction and voters are looking for a change in direction. The language used to define the policies of the status quo and the policies of economic freedom that can lead to a better future must be consistent with voter’s understanding and experience to gain their support.
HOW TO USE THIS DATA
Activists and politicians advocating for increased economic freedom should use the terms “big-government socialism” to describe the status-quo policies of the progressive left and “free-market capitalism” to describe theirs.
Click on the image below to read the full report… or read the summary below.
A Note on Methodology
- In this survey of 2,000 Registered Voters, half of respondents were given questions using the terms “capitalism” and “socialism”, and the other half were given the same questions using the terms “free-market capitalism” and “big-government socialism.”
- The difference in results show how much more effective the latter two terms are in advocating for greater economic freedom in America.
Socialism or Capitalism vs. Big-Government Socialism or Free-Market Capitalism
- By 50% to 22%, voters prefer capitalism over socialism. By 59% to 12%, voters prefer free-market capitalism over big-government socialism. This is a 19% difference in margin of preference.
- By 45% to 31%, voters say capitalism is fairer than socialism. By 59% to 15%, voters say that free-market capitalism is fairer than big-government socialism, a 14% difference.
- By 49% to 26%, voters say capitalism leads to a better future than socialism. By 58% to 16%, voters say free-market capitalism leads to a better future than big-government socialism, a 19% difference.
- By 47% to 32%, voters say capitalism is responsible for the rising cost of living/inflation rather than socialism. That margin is flipped 34% to 47%, when voters are asked if free-market capitalism or big-government socialism is more responsible for inflation, a 28% difference.
Why There’s a Difference: Word Association
- Voters were asked what two to three words they think of when they hear the four terms.
- Socialism and big-government socialism are both associated with “government” and “control,” but socialism is also more strongly associated with positive words such as “community,” “people,” “equality,” and “good”.
- Capitalism is most strongly associated with “money,” “greed,” “rich” and “profit” while “free-market capitalism” is most strongly associated with “freedom.”
Economic System Scale: Where Voters See Themselves and the Two Parties
On a scale from 1 (preferring a 100% socialist/big-government socialist economic system) to 9 (preferring a 100% capitalist/free-market socialist system), survey participants were asked to choose a number that reflected what economic system they believe the U.S. has now and what they preferred for the U.S. The results reveal:
- Voters want the U.S. to be slightly more socialist (-0.1) than what they believe it is now but significantly more free-market capitalist (+0.8).
- Swing voters want the U.S. to be slightly more capitalist (+0.1) but significantly more free-market capitalist (+0.7).
- New Majority voters, overall, want the U.S. to be more capitalist (+0.4) and much more free-market capitalist (+1.3). Key components of the New Majority coalition, however, such as undecided and Democratic leaning voters want the U.S. to be more socialist while all components of the New Majority coalition want the U.S. to be more free-market capitalist.
- Men want the U.S. to be more capitalist (+0.4) while women want it to be more socialist (-0.5). However, both men and women want the U.S. to be more free-market capitalist (Men: +1.1, Women: +0.6).
- Blacks and Hispanics want the U.S. to be more socialist (Blacks: -0.4, Hispanics: -0.3) while Asian and White voters are happy with how capitalist the U.S. is. However, all races want the U.S. to be more free-market capitalist (Asians: +0.7, Blacks: +0.2, Hispanics: +0.7, and Whites: +0.9).
- Younger and middle-aged voters want the U.S. to be more socialist (Gen Z: -1.1, Millennial: -0.3, Gen X: -0.3) while Boomer voters want the U.S. to be more capitalist (+0.6). However, only Gen Z voters want the U.S. to be more big-government socialist (-0.3), while Millennial (+0.2), Gen X (+1.2) and Boomers (+1.2) voters want the U.S. to be more free-market capitalist.
Survey participants were also asked to choose a number reflecting what economic system they believe Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Republicans in Congress and Democrats in Congress preferred for the U.S. The results reveal:
- Voters place themselves slightly closer to Donald Trump (+1.3) and Republicans in Congress (+1.0) than to Joe Biden (-1.7) and Democrats in Congress (-1.7) on preference for socialism or capitalism. However, they see themselves as much closer to Trump (+0.2) and Republicans (0.0) and further from Biden (-2.2) and Democrats (-2.1) on preference for big-government socialism or free-market capitalism.
- Swing voters see themselves as closer to Donald Trump (+1.0) and Republicans (+0.7) than to Joe Biden (-1.7) and the Democrats (-1.8) on preference for socialism or capitalism. However, they see themselves as much closer to Trump (+0.1) and Republicans (-0.1) and further from Biden (-2.1) and Democrats (-0.2) on preference for big-government socialism or free-market capitalism.
- New Majority voters, overall, place themselves closer to Donald Trump (+0.8) and Republicans in Congress (+0.4) than to Joe Biden (-2.4) and Democrats in Congress (-2.4) on preference for socialism or capitalism. However, they see themselves as closer to Trump (-0.1) and Republicans (-0.4) and further from Biden (-2.9) and Democrats (-2.8) on preference for big-government socialism or free-market capitalism.