Gallup: More Democrats now view socialism favorably than capitalism

[DGUtley]

Gallup: More Democrats now view socialism favorably than capitalism. Sell it in the breadbasket folks.

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According to Gallup -- socialism is a growing force within the Democratic Party. Its membership has ballooned from 7,000 to 37,000 members since the 2016 election, per the NY Times (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/30/opinion/democratic-socialists-progressive-democratic-party-trump.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=opinion-c-col-right-region&region=opinion-c-col-right-region&WT.nav=opinion-c-col-right-region), and has given us candidates such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders. Socialists have endorsed Barack Obama and pushed agenda items such as Medicare for all, guaranteed income, abolishing ICE, and distancing America from Israel. Everybody gets a trophy.

According to Gallup, the far left wing (https://news.gallup.com/poll/240725/democrats-positive-socialism-capitalism.aspx) of the Democratic party has affected the views of the entire party. For the first time since they started asking this question in 2010, Democrats have a significantly more positive image of socialism than they do of capitalism.

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Gallup poll: https://news.gallup.com/poll/240725/democrats-positive-socialism-capitalism.aspx

NY Times Article: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/30/opinion/democratic-socialists-progressive-democratic-party-trump.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=opinion-c-col-right-region&region=opinion-c-col-right-region&WT.nav=opinion-c-col-right-region


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[Chris]

Saw that and immediately thought thank God none of the liberals here on this forum favor socialism, at least they say so, deny so.

[DGUtley]

It is the future of the Democrat party. They said so.

[Mister D]

Gallup: More Democrats now view socialism favorably than capitalism. Sell it in the breadbasket folks.

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According to Gallup -- socialism is a growing force within the Democratic Party. Its membership has ballooned from 7,000 to 37,000 members since the 2016 election, per the NY Times (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/30/opinion/democratic-socialists-progressive-democratic-party-trump.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=opinion-c-col-right-region&region=opinion-c-col-right-region&WT.nav=opinion-c-col-right-region), and has given us candidates such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders. Socialists have endorsed Barack Obama and pushed agenda items such as Medicare for all, guaranteed income, abolishing ICE, and distancing America from Israel. Everybody gets a trophy.

According to Gallup, the far left wing (https://news.gallup.com/poll/240725/democrats-positive-socialism-capitalism.aspx) of the Democratic party has affected the views of the entire party. For the first time since they started asking this question in 2010, Democrats have a significantly more positive image of socialism than they do of capitalism.

24134

Gallup poll: https://news.gallup.com/poll/240725/democrats-positive-socialism-capitalism.aspx

NY Times Article: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/30/opinion/democratic-socialists-progressive-democratic-party-trump.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=opinion-c-col-right-region&region=opinion-c-col-right-region&WT.nav=opinion-c-col-right-region


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I'm skeptical. I doubt many of them could accurately define socialism.

[Chris]

I'm skeptical. I doubt many of them could accurately define socialism.

It started with the Geeks. :)

[Mister D]

It started with the Geeks. :)
It ties back to your earlier thread about the Nordic states and private property rights. Young Democrats think socialism is when everyone has free healthcare, 8 weeks of paid vacation and their own Volvo. But that's not socialism.

[Adelaide]

A lot of moderates are leaving (or have left over the last decade plus) the two parties to be independents (up to 40% in 2016 or 2017... think it was 2016 data I was reading) and that leaves behind the more extreme faction. So, when you poll "Democrats" you are getting a picture of the more extreme members that remain and not a picture of the actual "left". That is also probably why most people who you would think would be Democrats on this site are not actually Democrats and the same for those you might assume would be Republicans.

I think, and in my opinion, that Republicans started scattering from the party in 2004 when Bush was being re-elected and Democrats scattered in 2012 during Obama's re-election year, and then more so during/after the 2016 election (since most moderates don't support Clinton).

[Mini Me]

Big nothing burger! Blah, blah, blah

Socialism is NOT the same thing as democratic socialism! Contards never get it!

[Chris]

It ties back to your earlier thread about the Nordic states and private property rights. Young Democrats think socialism is when everyone has free healthcare, 8 weeks of paid vacation and their own Volvo. But that's not socialism.


Big nothing burger! Blah, blah, blah

Socialism is NOT the same thing as democratic socialism! Contards never get it!





Nor do people seem to have a good working definition of democracy.*

Democratic socialism doubles down on that.



*An excellent explanation is found in Alain de Benoist's essay "Democracy Revisited: The Ancients and the Moderns," in Tomislav Sunic's Podt-mortem Report.

[Ethereal]

Republicans love socialism just as much as Democrats. But instead of socialism for the poor, they favor socialism for the rich. Bank bailouts, corporate subsidies, a massive police state that violates our rights, wars that never end. Yup, Republicans don't hesitate to stick their hands into your pocket in order to redistribute wealth to the richest and most powerful.

[Admiral Ackbar]

Republicans love socialism just as much as Democrats. But instead of socialism for the poor, they favor socialism for the rich. Bank bailouts, corporate subsidies, a massive police state that violates our rights, wars that never end. Yup, Republicans don't hesitate to stick their hands into your pocket in order to redistribute wealth to the richest and most powerful.

Ah Socialism. Think of all the fun you will have. Maybe Jenny from the Block will misspeak and be sent to join you. You might be able to hook up!

[Chris]

Republicans love socialism just as much as Democrats. But instead of socialism for the poor, they favor socialism for the rich. Bank bailouts, corporate subsidies, a massive police state that violates our rights, wars that never end. Yup, Republicans don't hesitate to stick their hands into your pocket in order to redistribute wealth to the richest and most powerful.


I would argue that socialism has always been for the rich. Defined as central planning, it concentrates power in the hands of a few, which leads to corruption.

Noam Chomsky, Socialism for the Rich, Capitalism for the Poor (https://truthout.org/articles/socialism-for-the-rich-capitalism-for-the-poor-an-interview-with-noam-chomsky/), says it better:


Concentration of wealth leads naturally to concentration of power, which in turn translates to legislation favoring the interests of the rich and powerful and thereby increasing even further the concentration of power and wealth. Various political measures, such as fiscal policy, deregulation, and rules for corporate governance are designed to increase the concentration of wealth and power. And that’s what we’ve been seeing during the neoliberal era. It is a vicious cycle in constant progress. The state is there to provide security and support to the interests of the privileged and powerful sectors in society while the rest of the population is left to experience the brutal reality of capitalism. Socialism for the rich, capitalism for the poor.

So, yes, in that sense capitalism actually works to undermine democracy. But what has just been described — that is, the vicious cycle of concentration of power and wealth — is so traditional that it is even described by Adam Smith in 1776. He says in his famous Wealth of Nations that, in England, the people who own society, in his days the merchants and the manufacturers, are “the principal architects of policy.” And they make sure that their interests are very well cared for, however grievous the impact of the policies they advocate and implement through government is on the people of England or others.

Now, it’s not merchants and manufacturers who own society and dictate policy. It is financial institutions and multinational corporations. Today they are the groups that Adam Smith called the masters of mankind. And they are following the same vile maxim that he formulated: All for ourselves and nothing for anyone else. They will pursue policies that benefit them and harm everyone else because capitalist interests dictate that they do so. It’s in the nature of the system. And in the absence of a general, popular reaction, that’s pretty much all you will get.


If you want good examples, read about the rich in Cuba. Castro was born rich, lived rich, and died rich, leaving a fortune of $900 million: 10 Surprises About Fidel Castro's Extravagant Life (https://www.forbes.com/sites/keithflamer/2016/11/26/10-surprises-about-castros-extravagant-life/#4d0fd3a66d76).

[CCitizen]

WOW! Even 16% of Republicans view Socialism favorably.

Socialism is not Communism. Capitalism is much closer to Communism then Socialism. Both Capitalism and Communism disregard individual rights which Socialism protects.

[CCitizen]

Saw that and immediately thought thank God none of the liberals here on this forum favor socialism, at least they say so, deny so.
I am neither Liberal nor Conservative. I believe all humans have a right to
-- food
-- housing
-- medical care

All humans include those who can not provide for themselves.

[barb012]

Republicans love socialism just as much as Democrats. But instead of socialism for the poor, they favor socialism for the rich. Bank bailouts, corporate subsidies, a massive police state that violates our rights, wars that never end. Yup, Republicans don't hesitate to stick their hands into your pocket in order to redistribute wealth to the richest and most powerful.

The democrats also do the same thing!