Most Democrats View Socialism Positively

From Gallup:

Socialism Viewed Positively by 36% of Americans

February 4, 2010

Majority of Americans positive on capitalism, entrepreneurs, free enterprise, and small business
by Frank Newport

PRINCETON, NJ — More than one-third of Americans (36%) have a positive image of "socialism," while 58% have a negative image. Views differ by party and ideology, with a majority of Democrats and liberals saying they have a positive view of socialism, compared to a minority of Republicans and conservatives…

Of course the only news here is that they would admit it and that Gallup would report it.

Though, note the headline. It seems to be an attempt to convince us that (in the words of Newsweek) ‘we are all socialists now.’

To its credit, Gallup does go on to explain that socialism is the least popular term, compared to ‘capitalism’ and ‘free enterprise’ and ‘big and small business’ and ‘entrepreneurs’ and ‘federal government’:

Socialism had the lowest percentage positive rating and the highest negative rating of any term tested. Still, more than a third of Americans say they have a positive image of socialism.

Exactly how Americans define "socialism" or what exactly they think of when they hear the word is not known. The research simply measures Americans’ reactions when a survey interviewer reads the word to them — an exercise that helps shed light on connotations associated with this frequently used term.

There are significant differences in reactions to "socialism" across ideological and partisan groups:

* A majority of 53% of Democrats have a positive image of socialism, compared to 17% of Republicans.

* Sixty-one percent of liberals say their image of socialism is positive, compared to 39% of moderates and 20% of conservatives.

But in their ‘bottom line,’ Gallup again reassures us:

"Socialism" is not a completely negative term in today’s America. About a third of Americans respond positively when they hear the term. Some of this reaction may reflect unusual or unclear understandings of what socialism means. Reaction to the term is not random, however, as attested by the finding that positive images are significantly differentiated by politics and ideology.

This shouldn’t be any too surprising. Our schools and our media – practically every institution in our culture – does everything it can to provide “unclear understandings of what socialism means.”

Of course there are some people who really do want to be taken care of by the government from the cradle to the grave.

Aristotle called them ‘natural slaves.’

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