« How to Talk to Kids About Debt | Main | My Thoughts As My Oldest Son Gets His Driver’s License… »
Public’s View of Capitalism (and Other Political Terms)
By JLP | January 10, 2012
Interesting poll I found while reading this Larry Summers Opinion Piece (click on the graphic to visit the source for the poll numbers).
Back to the Summers’ Piece…
He opens it with this statement (bold mine):
“Americans have traditionally been the most enthusiastic champions of capitalism. Yet a recent American public opinion survey found that just 50 per cent of people had a positive opinion of capitalism while 40 per cent did not. The disillusionment was particularly marked among young people 18-29, African Americans and Hispanics, those with incomes under $30,000 and self-described Democrats.”
This isn’t a surprise to me. When you raise a generation of people during a period of ever expanding government, this is what you get. When you have politicians painting people as victims rather than people responsible for the bulk of their decisions, this is what you get. When you have politicians mixing it up with business and doing favors for each other (crony capitalism), this is what you get.
Topics: Economics, Politics | 9 Comments »
January 10th, 2012 at 2:01 pm
Interesting, since there is no difference between “liberal” and “progressive” — they simply renamed themselves because people started realizing what “liberal” really meant: darned near socialist.
Those with a positive view of “progressive” have been thoroughly bamboozled.
January 10th, 2012 at 9:52 pm
Capitalists love capitalism, right up to the point where their banks collapse, at which point they love socialism as the taxpayers bail their a$$es out.
January 11th, 2012 at 8:59 am
And then there are those of us who are not capitalists as such, but are just working stiffs who know that capitalism is the best system all-around for providing for the progress of humanity toward prosperity and freedom.
January 11th, 2012 at 12:02 pm
Although I can be accurately cast as a ‘kneejerk liberal,’ I also consider myself a promoter of capitalism. That said, I don’t think the antipathy is a result of ‘a generation raised in a period of ever-expanding government” or anyone viewing themselves as a victim. Rather, it is a self-inflicted wound by a large group of predators who characterize themselves as capitalists. As a recent and well-written article in Money Magazine puts it: “. . .Capitalism as it’s now practiced in the US diverts rewards from the deserving to the influential.” “If Capitalism is working, people have a pretty fair shot. If you don’t create value, you don’t succeed. But capitalism involves a whole lot more transparency and accountability than we’ve had.” It’s the crap done in the name of capitalism that tarnishes its value in the eyes of the public.
January 11th, 2012 at 12:48 pm
Well said Grace. That description of “Capitalism in the US” is what I like to call “Corporatocracy”:
From Wikipedia:
Corporatocracy is an imprecise pejorative term describing an unhealthy alignment between business and political power. It describes an elite, sometimes termed the “1 percent”, which maintains ties between business and government, sometimes by lobbying efforts or funding political advertising campaigns, or providing bailouts when corporations are seen as too big to fail, for the purpose of controlling government and dictating policy to serve its financial interests.
January 11th, 2012 at 12:50 pm
I am more like a “kneejerk capitalist”, but I find myself agreeing with Grace.
The success of the American system relies on people at the lower levels of society believing they can rise to the top. If we lose that, then we are doomed.
If people perceive that only the rich or well-connected can prosper, they will not support the system.
We should be asking both what it takes for people to feel they have a shot at financial success and how to motivate them to make the effort.
To me, this means that society should (for example) provide easy access to education, but also consequences for not succeeding at school/college.
January 11th, 2012 at 1:08 pm
I, too, agree with Grace and BG. If our government were constrained to those powers given to it by the Constitution, then there would be a lot less being diverted from the deserving to the influential. Government is the primary diverter, and most of the unconstitutional diversion to the influential is done under the guise of BG beloved Commerce Clause and General Welfare Clause, both of which have been stretched so far as to make anything which remotely touches Interstate Commerce — including your kitchen garden — subject to feral government.
January 12th, 2012 at 5:10 pm
Crony capitalism is the only variety of capitalism these young people have been exposed to. No wonder they have a negative view.
January 15th, 2012 at 7:54 pm
I would consider myself to be a devout capitalist with a healthy dose of common sense, and a progressive (read liberal) sensibility when it comes to social issues. Which is to say that I play on both teams…. politically speaking. In terms of conservative vs liberal, I trust neither. Never have, never will. I appreciate a system where somebody from the bottom rungs can fulfill their potential thru education, perseverance, and hard work, and can literally go from poverty to prosperity in a generation. But, maybe this is my relatively unique perspective.
It’s not that I did not see all the obstacles, corruption, cronyism and elitism of our system. I grew up in a small townish place where opportunity is hard to come – especially for anyone born into the underclass. I’ve experienced many instances of being shut out of job opportunities, and watching better-connected, socially-advantaged acquaintances move ahead faster. But, ultimately, I knew this was a system where upward mobility exists on a level not found in other systems. That is why, despite all the shortcomings, I’m a believer.