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> The question wording does not define "socialism" or "capitalism" but simply asks respondents whether their opinion of each is positive or negative. I wonder

> The question wording does not define "socialism" or "capitalism" but simply asks respondents whether their opinion of each is positive or negative. I wonder how defining the terms would change the outcome. I've found that most laypersons simply equate Socialism with Welfare. That aside, this is an interesting split happening in America. I know it's mostly impossible, but I would love to understand the origin of this shift. I, personally, have to believe a lot of it has to do with our complete inability to fix healthcare in this country. I'm firmly in the pro-capitalism side, but even I have to admit at this point I'd take single payer over our current Kafkaesque nightmare.

rayiner 7y ago
Re: welfare, the attitude is also borne out of misconceptions on the left about what “socialist” European countries actually are like. The American left, especially the younger generation, is strongly anti-corporate. Places like Sweden are not anti-corporate. The Nordic countries all do well in the Heritage Foundation’s economic freedom index: https://www.heritage.org/index/ranking https://www.heritage.org/index/ranking. The top capital gains tax rate in Sweden is 30%, lower than California. The corporate tax rate in Sweden and Denmark is 22%, about the same as under Trump’s tax law. The countries are also highly deregulated. Denmark recently got rid of its version of the FCC. The Nordic countries never had the equivalent of Glass-Steagall, and on several key dimensions their financial systems are less regulated than in the US: http://webhome.auburn.edu/~barthjr/papers/The%20Repeal%20of%20Glass-Steagall.pdf http://webhome.auburn.edu/~barthjr/papers/The%20Repeal%20of%... (see p. 19; note that the article is written in 1997 in contemplation of the repeal of Glass-Stegal, which had not yet occurred). Most passenger rail in Sweden is run by private operators over publicly owned track: https://www.cerre.eu/sites/cerre/files/161206_CERRE_PassRailComp_CaseStudy_Sweden.pdf https://www.cerre.eu/sites/cerre/files/161206_CERRE_PassRail.... (While DC is complaining that WMATA isn’t being run as a “public service” because it won’t run massively money-losing late-night trains, and the Union is fighting the plan to have part of the silver line operated by a private company, Stockholm’s metro is completely operated by MTR, a Hong Kong corporation.) Nowhere in Western Europe can properly be described as “socialist,” not even “socialist life” after the 1980s and 1990s when states went on a massive privatization binge. They’re capitalist democracies where heavy taxes on individuals (especially the middle class) are used to fund a broad welfare state.

rayiner 7y ago

Re: welfare, the attitude is also borne out of misconceptions on the left about what “socialist” European countries actually are like. The American left, especially the younger generation, is strongly anti-corporate. Places like Sweden are not anti-corporate. The Nordic countries all do well in the Heritage Foundation’s economic freedom index: https://www.heritage.org/index/ranking https://www.heritage.org/index/ranking. The top capital gains tax rate in Sweden is 30%, lower than California. The corporate tax rate in Sweden and Denmark is 22%, about the same as under Trump’s tax law. The countries are also highly deregulated. Denmark recently got rid of its version of the FCC. The Nordic countries never had the equivalent of Glass-Steagall, and on several key dimensions their financial systems are less regulated than in the US: http://webhome.auburn.edu/~barthjr/papers/The%20Repeal%20of%20Glass-Steagall.pdf http://webhome.auburn.edu/~barthjr/papers/The%20Repeal%20of%... (see p. 19; note that the article is written in 1997 in contemplation of the repeal of Glass-Stegal, which had not yet occurred). Most passenger rail in Sweden is run by private operators over publicly owned track: https://www.cerre.eu/sites/cerre/files/161206_CERRE_PassRailComp_CaseStudy_Sweden.pdf https://www.cerre.eu/sites/cerre/files/161206_CERRE_PassRail.... (While DC is complaining that WMATA isn’t being run as a “public service” because it won’t run massively money-losing late-night trains, and the Union is fighting the plan to have part of the silver line operated by a private company, Stockholm’s metro is completely operated by MTR, a Hong Kong corporation.) Nowhere in Western Europe can properly be described as “socialist,” not even “socialist life” after the 1980s and 1990s when states went on a massive privatization binge. They’re capitalist democracies where heavy taxes on individuals (especially the middle class) are used to fund a broad welfare state.