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Posted on 08/18/2026 7:47:36 AM PDT by Heartlander
Americans may dislike the word “socialism,” but when asked whether government should solve their problems, many still place their faith, incorrectly, in the hands of government.
A new CBS News/YouGov poll found that 46 percent of Americans view capitalism positively, compared with 35 percent who view socialism positively. When “capitalism” is replaced with “the free market,” support becomes much stronger: 66 percent say the free market is good for the U.S. economy.
But those numbers become more complicated when voters are asked about specific policies. Many Americans appear to support free markets in theory without fully understanding what a free-market system entails in practice. When the poll asked about price controls, the overwhelming majority, including of Republicans, said they actually favored them.
While 72 percent of Republicans said they had a positive view of capitalism, only 46 percent opposed price controls. That means 54 percent of Republicans supported them, alongside 62 percent of independents and 75 percent of Democrats. The results reveal an uncomfortable reality, that Americans may reject the label of socialism, but are still willing to embrace the government intervention that makes it possible.
Per the latest CBS/YouGov poll, a majority of *Republicans* approve of government price controls. https://t.co/wqOnLcJvdj pic.twitter.com/MTPdkc5y26— Adam Carlson (@admcrlsn) August 16, 2026
The problem is multifaceted. It is not only a failure of education; it also reinforces a point Vice President JD Vance made last week: repeating free-market dogma is not the same as actually practicing free-market principles. A real free-market agenda requires Republicans to place more faith in the dispersed knowledge, judgment, and adaptability of individuals than in a powerful centralized government.
It means embracing supply-side economics, deregulation, lower and simpler taxes, the elimination of wasteful subsidies, and an end to protectionist policies that insulate domestic producers from competition. It means making it easier to build homes, start businesses, develop energy, hire workers, and bring new technologies to market. It means treating the economy not as a government jobs program, but as an engine of prosperity, innovation, and technological advancement.
That also means refusing to adopt socialist diagnoses for economic problems.
Housing is not expensive simply because of “greedy corporations;” it is expensive because housing supply has been constrained by zoning, permitting delays, building restrictions, and local opposition to development. Gas is not expensive because oil companies seek profit; it is expensive because of government imposed taxes, production limits, refinery constraints, and regulatory barriers. Healthcare is not unaffordable because doctors, insurers, or pharmaceutical companies are uniquely greedy; the costs are primarily shaped by government-driven distortions, limited competition, licensing barriers, and an insurance system that separates consumers from the prices of the care they receive.
The same ideas apply elsewhere. High college tuition is not solved by more subsidized loans that allow schools to charge more. Grocery prices are not lowered through price controls that discourage production and lead to shortages. Low wages are not fixed by treating every business as an enemy.
Free markets must become more than an economic system we regard as simply “better than socialism.” We must understand, and teach, the why. We must practice what we preach: put our faith in individuals’ freedom to make intelligent choices, stop demonizing industry, embrace competition and technological innovation, and get government out of the way.
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A “free market” is impossible under the current regulatory restraints that have been imposed over the years by the federal legislature.
They’re confused.
I love Trump because I believe he genuinely loves America, stands up to the Left like no other, and he generally tells the truth. “MAGA” is from Trump’s heart.
But there’s more work to be done. Although I love Trump and the idea of “MAGA”, it appears that Trump thinks MAGA is achieved through gov’t. In business, Trump was used to being in charge (”The General”, as Melania admirably calls him) and growing his business to world class. But what Donald Trump doesn’t seem to understand is as President, his job is to SHRINK gov’t, not grow it.
But gov’t is essentially different from business. Business comes under the heading of “free pursuits”. It is the endeavors of legitimate and God-given “self-interest”. The Left has succeeded is merging “self-interest” with “greed” but these two terms are not the same. Everybody has God-given self-interest. It’s why you don’t pick rat poison at the grocery store for dinner tonight. Greed is corruption whereas self-interest is God given. Greed is basically taking what does not belong to you whereas self-interest is earning what belongs to you.
You always want to grow business. It’s a God-given and legitimate desire in the interests of yourself, your family, and your concerns. It’s free and competitive in the open market where eventually, without gov’t interference, the best quality and best prices win the consumers’ free choice. Nobody coerces the consumer to buy the product. Again, self-interest guides the consumer to the highest quality at the lowest price AKA VALUE. Business without gov’t interference is FREE ENTERPRISE AKA the Free Market Economy (I don’t like the Marists term “capitalism”). Nobody puts you in jail if you don’t buy a product.
What about gov’t? Read the Declaration of Independence for the purpose of gov’t. Gov’t is a necessary evil basically to protect a country from invasion of another country. Gov’t is coercive. If you don’t do what gov’t says, it might put you in jail. Gov’t has its OWN self-interest, and the bigger gov’t gets, the greedier and more corrupt it gets. The greatest political document of all time might very well be the U.S. Constitution which recognizes both the need and the peril of a national gov’t.
When did America become great? Basically in the 1800’s. Why did America become great? Was it because of gov’t? Hardly. Gov’t spending during the 1800’s averaged somewhere around 3% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The federal gov’t was an afterthought and generally was not thought about by the average citizen except in time of war.
And yet with individual freedom in full bloom and gov’t generally out of the picture, America emerged for the 1800’s into the 1900’s as the most free, wealthiest, healthiest, and powerful country in the world.
Individual FREEDOM NOT GOV’T is what made MAGA and what will again make MAGA. As I said, Trump has done a lot of good but there much still to do. If America is going to truly be great again, it must have BIG individual freedom and SMALL gov’t (except for military).
Who is going to put the Federal Gov’t back into its constitutional cage and cut the 80%+, $3+ trillion unconstitutional portion of the federal gov’t? (For instance, the federal gov’t has not been constitutionally authorized to meddle in healthcare. Gov’t healthcare needs to be abolished. On the other hand, social security although not constitutional, is an investment that so many Americans have made that to be just, it would have to be slowly ramped down if it were to be eliminated.
Whoever can take the heat from the Left like Trump and except for maybe social security, make the federal gov’t constitutional, will be making America great again. Who is that person? I don’t know if we’ll ever have such a parson and such a movement but that is what will be required for MAGA.
“Gas is not expensive because oil companies seek profit; it is expensive because of government-imposed taxes, production limits, refinery constraints, and regulatory barriers,”
We have been assured by President Trump that has prices are high because oil companies are gouging us.
The same poll found that those same people couldn't define socialism.
or capitalism ...
1. People want to pay as little as possible for what they buy.
2. People want to get paid as much as possible for what they sell.
98% of the political decisions in any democratic form of government are designed to deal with this irreconcilable conflict.
Who laid off 300,000 federal workers in the last 18 months?
Who signed an order to dismantle 7 government agencies including the Dept of Education?
I think you need to do a little more research before posting so you don’t appear to be full of chit.
Correct.
A gov’mt program is not socialism.
Plus, most NPC’s say they like capitalism but are OK with turning over control to gov’mt (that IS socialism) ‘cause they have not spoken to their parents.
They have before and I believe it based on history. And yes, government interference plays a large role.
Is Trump’s goal to dismantle the $3+ trillion, 80%+ unconstitutitonal portion of the federal gov’t to make it small, except for the military, and constitutitonal?
I don’t think so.
I recently realized I’ve inherited some family traits from my Sicilian great-grandparents. Mainly, learning to be self-reliant and knowing how to navigate the government rather than depending on it.
Sicilians developed a culture of navigating the system through patronage or loopholes. You didn’t passively rely on the government to do the right thing; you figured out how to actively use its bureaucracy, connections, or local brokers to get what you needed to take care of your own.
Nobody is going to do more than Trump to downsize the govt. After him its all going to be downhill. Without Congress most agencies cannot be shuttered. The President can only do so much by himself.
You should be aiming your angst at the US Congress. They are the problem.
When "capitalism" is replaced with "the free market," support becomes much stronger:
That's why the left, including the unelected left in and out of media, always avoid saying "the free market", and say Karl Marx' term "capitalism" instead.
We live in a mixed economy...half capitalist, half socialist, half free market, half regulated market.
Every choice is not a choice between the “concept” of capitalism or socialism. Every choice is between more, or less, government regulation (and ownership) in a specific situation.
A certain suburb is a very desireable place to live. Should government require that only R1 zoned houses be built and no R3 zoned housing? Should FANNIE MAE/FREDDIE MAC be allowed to approve or disapprove a loan solely because the house is not compatible with the neighborhood it is in? Should FANNIE/FREDDIE even exist as government decisions on where you can and cannot live?
The same example exists in housing, in medicine, in education, in other parts of our society.
Yup. Look at the commie care stuff. Even those who did not support commie care wanted insurance not to charge more for pre-existing conditions.
Most humans are ignorant. All the more reason for a limited franchise
Americans are like children who watch and learn from their parents.
As Americans watch and learn from the leaders of large institutions they get the message:
—Grab what you can while you can—the ideological labels do not matter.
People are generally practical. Conservative economic theory is often not.
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