10 April 2009

Poll: 33% of Americans Under 30 Prefer Socialism over Capitalism

We Wants Gulags!

A new Rasmussen poll shows that our Republic is turning frighteningly pinko:
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.
I blame the early 80s advocacy of communist plots masquerading as cartoon shows such as The Smurfs for warping impressionable minds. There's an interesting analysis at ePinion about Papa Smurf being Karl Marx while Brainy is met to symbolize Trotsky because he's always getting kicked out of the Smurf Village. If that sounds a bit too teh crazy for ya, then the negative view of capitalism probably has to do with the current economic malaise.

But, the federal government billions to failing banks who made poor financial decisions is hardly the "capitalism" that Adam Smith imagined and it certainly isn't the industrial revolution workers paradise that Marx imagined. So I don't know what "ism" to call the current crop of bullshit we are dealing with.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Here's what passes for a hopeful interpretation of this:

Maybe the 20% who say "socialism is better" are thinking of Euro-style social democracy rather than Marxism. So: regulation, yes; taxes and welfare, yes; gulag, no.

If this is what is going on, there are two implications: first, phew! No bloody revolution in our future! Second, shame on cable news conservatives for making people think that what's going on in European social democracies (which looks pretty nice from some perspectives) is what "socialism" is, when actual socialism is really horrible.

- A-ro

Nate in SF said...

Pink slips make temporary pikos. When the economy rebounds, people won't necessarily hop back into their SUV's and start looking at houses they can't afford again, but I'm sure they will drift right back to the excesses of capitalism that have gotten us into the situation we are in now, assuming the skyrocketing national debt doesn't bankrupt us as a country and cause us to default on our treasury bonds(sorry china).

The bottom line is this could be alot worse. We aren't facing anything like the great depression here. This recession might just be the kick in the ass our country needs, assuming we watch closely and judge objectively how the government reacts.

Lisa said...

I don't know what the current -ism is, either.

When I read this: "Adults under 30 are essentially evenly divided:. . . and 30% are undecided"
I first read it as, "UNEDUCATED". Could that be more at the truth?

Pinkos in cartoons far predated the Smurfs. Boris and Natasha in the Ricky and Bullwinkle show come to mind. Not favorably depicted, mind you, but who knows how kid's brains work.

Meld that with Sesame Street's "Who Are the People in Your Neighborhood" and you get a happy family, right?

Mike said...

Based on what I have seen about 1/3 of people under 30 have never had to do a day of real fucking work in their lives ... this statistic makes sense.

Nixon said...

Nate,

It would be beneficial if we allowed the market to correct the excesses and debt that we reaped through idiotic policies. But it seems we are going to prolong the pain and set us up for hyperinflation down the road.

Grung_e_Gene said...

Socialism doesn't mena what Socialism means... The discourse on this -ism and that -ism are so silly. America clearly is not a capitalist country now or at any time in it's history.

Lisa said...

capitalism is passe; democracy may be dead, too.

Anonymoose said...

Who needs democracy, or the free market- Obama and Co clearly know better how to run our lives than we do.