According to a report by CNN on the 24th local time, various recent poll results show that Americans, including many Republicans, are losing faith in capitalism.
According to reports, although U.S. President Trump has revealed that his core campaign strategy for the 2026 midterm elections involves calling Democrats “socialists” and even describing them as a “communist threat,” the deeper phenomenon that deserves more attention in American politics today is not the rise of socialist ideologies, but rather the significant collapse of public confidence in capitalism and economic fairness.
A recent poll by Fox News echoed Gallup's data from last year in its core findings: People's goodwill towards socialism has only slightly increased; in contrast, public approval of capitalism has significantly declined.
In 2019, the net difference in the liking of capitalism among registered voters was 30 percentage points (57% positive, 27% negative); today this net difference has reduced to only 4 percentage points (50% positive, 46% negative).
The poll also showed that 65% of voters agreed with the statement that “the current system is manipulated to benefit only the wealthy,” a figure that significantly increased compared to 56% during Trump’s first term in office.
It is noteworthy that the group with the greatest change in opinion is precisely the Republican voters. In 2019, 72% of Republicans had a favorable attitude towards capitalism, but this proportion has now dropped to 61%. Among Republicans who have a “strongly positive” attitude towards capitalism, the proportion has decreased from 54% to 41%.
Additionally, among Republican voters who agree that "the system favors the rich and is full of injustice," the proportion has risen from 30% in 2018 to 42% now.
Coincidentally, a June survey conducted by The Wall Street Journal in conjunction with the NORC Public Affairs Research Center showed that less than half of Americans believed the capitalist system was "functioning effectively," compared to 60% ten years ago.
A Pew Research Center survey in January showed that 61% of Americans said it was “very offensive” that the wealthy did not pay a reasonable share of taxes, including 41% of Republicans and independent voters who lean towards Republicans.
Reports indicate that even traditional supporters of free markets among the right-wing groups are feeling increasingly disillusioned with the current economic system. It is difficult to find other data that can reflect this situation so directly; the sense of disappointment among American citizens towards their national economy is continuing to spread.
