Democrats are nearly evenly divided when asked which is best, Capitalism or Socialism, according to a new poll.
Rasmussen Reports found that 66 percent of Democrats view Capitalism favorably and 56 percent view Socialism favorably, proving that both philosophies are embraced.
By comparison, 80 percent of Republicans strongly embrace Capitalism, while just 12 percent have a favorable view of Socialism.
There is similar split among younger and older voters, Rasmussen’s analysis said. “The younger the voter the more likely he or she is to view socialism favorably. Most voters of all ages share a favorable view of capitalism, but those under 40 are much less enthusiastic about it than their elders. Younger voters are also much less likely to favor capitalism over socialism,” he said.
Among all voters, 71 percent view Capitalism favorably, while just 33 percent see Socialism favorably.
The issue is key due to Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ presidential bid. He has energized younger voters and helped to push front-runner Hillary Clinton to the left. But as the overall numbers show, Socialism isn’t a nationally-winning philosophy.
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines socialism as “a way of organizing a society in which major industries are owned and controlled by the government rather than by individual people and companies.” Capitalism is defined as “a way of organizing an economy so that the things that are used to make and transport products (such as land, oil, factories, ships, etc.) are owned by individual people and companies rather than by the government.” But it should be noted that neither socialism nor capitalism was defined in the Rasmussen Reports survey question wording.
The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on October 26-27, 2015 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage point with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC.
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected].
