Capitalism versus Socialism

Poll confirms massive anti-capitalist shift in US public opinion

Eric Sommer - Global Research - April 17, 2009

New Poll Finds American Workers Turning Massively Towards Socialism: Unbelievable but True

In periods of intense economic crisis, tranformations which normally require years or decades can take place in weeks or months. A new U.S. poll taken in early April astonishingly shows that U.S. adults under 30 are approximately evenly divided on the question of socialism-versus-capitalism. According to a telephone poll by Rasmussen 33 per cent of the under-30's prefer socialism, 37 percent prefer capitalism, and 30 per cent are undecided.

In the population as a whole, the poll found that 53 percent believe capitalism is better than socialism;. twenty percent opt for socialism and 27 percent are undecided.

What is truelly remarkable about these results is that they have appeared in a society which for decades has been bombarded on a daily basis with anti-communist and anti-socialist propaganda from virtually every major radio, television, newspaper, and political source.

The poll did not define the meaning of socialism. But the fact that such large percentage of the US populaiton are no longer afraid of the word but now actively prefer it demonstrates the truth of Abraham Lincons' famous aphorism: "You can't fool all of the people all of the time."

It seems that the massive housing forclosures, job lay-offs, and mounting social misery, accompanied by the transfer of trillions of working peoples tax money to the finance capitalists, may be driving the American working class much more quickly and thoroughly to the Left than either the establishment - or even the Left - have dreamed possible.