Posted on 06/28/2016 5:00:42 AM PDT by BradtotheBone
In an apparent rejection of the basic principles of the U.S. economy, a new poll shows that most young people do not support capitalism.
The Harvard University survey, which polled young adults between ages 18 and 29, found that 51 percent of respondents do not support capitalism. Just 42 percent said they support it.
It isn't clear that the young people in the poll would prefer some alternative system, though. Just 33 percent said they supported socialism. The survey had a margin of error of 2.4 percentage points.
The results of the survey are difficult to interpret, pollsters noted. Capitalism can mean different things to different people, and the newest generation of voters is frustrated with the status quo, broadly speaking.
All the same, that a majority of respondents in Harvard University's survey of young adults said they do not support capitalism suggests that today's youngest voters are more focused on the flaws of free markets.
"The word 'capitalism' doesn't mean what it used to," said Zach Lustbader, a senior at Harvard involved in conducting the poll, which was published Monday. For those who grew up during the Cold War, capitalism meant freedom from the Soviet Union and other totalitarian regimes. For those who grew up more recently, capitalism has meant a financial crisis from which the global economy still hasn't completely recovered.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
One thing that concerns me a lot is that there seem to be fewer and fewer honest paths available to ‘climb’ the socioeconomic ladder in an effective way. It used to be that if you studied hard, and got a degree in engineering, math, etc., or went to professional school (medical school, law school) you could raise yourself up significantly. That’s just not true anymore, for a variety of reasons.
They are the ones that brought about goofy stuff like “artisan” doughnuts. “Craft” beer, and locally-sourced (more pricey)goods that are not mass-produced.
All of which cost far more than average to buy!
Biggest reason is supply and demand + globalism.
When a kid in India can apply for a job in Ohio, it inflates the talent pool, and drives down wages.
Let ‘em go live in Venezuela for a year, they’ll change their tune.
Unfortunately true. In part this is because making money on Wall Street doesn't depend upon the market doing well as much as it depends on the market ‘moving’.
You just know that a fair number of traders made money after the Brexit vote, and they probably didn't even have to ‘bet’ one way or the other. Trading can be done literally in microseconds now, and you could time sells and trades in such a way to both contribute to the precipitous decline, and profit off of it. This makes the market into a game, not a place to make wise long-term investments based on solid economic principles. Most of us who are in the market (I am) are just along for the ride, hoping to catch the crumbs that fall off the table.
Lil’ snowflakes need their Potemkin village safe space.
Capitalism was originally coined as a pejorative term.
Better IMO to focus on “free markets” and a “free economy”.
I wonder how those would poll and whether the GOP has tested various terms like this. I would think they would have.
This is telling.
“Dude! Where’s my paycheck?”
“Oh, we took what you would have earned and gave it to some of the folks behind you. It’s better that way.”
They have younger brothers and sisters who will be turning 18. And there is absolutely no reason to think they’ll believe any differently.
This country will elect someone just like Bernie within 2 election cycles.
Does capitalism mean your savings are diluted to squat through a combination of low interest rates and inflation?
Worked & saved my entire life. I don’t see the same opportunities for my children despite their better educations. I do see them getting $20T in debt dumped on their generations plate to service. Is that capitalism?
More of them might support “capitalism” if it was of the “market capitalism” variety and NOT the “crony capitalism” variety.
My HS economics and government teachers were at best socialists and I didn’t fall for their line.
I wished that I read Ayn Rand then. No one would explain or let alone mention the name.
I would have seen at least a long suspension if I had a copy of Atlas Shrugged on me then.
A wise person once told me that it was better to have a little bit of something very, very good, than a lot of something mediocre.
Think, "piece of Grandma's famous apple pie" vs "generic gargantuan hunk of Chocolate Lava Cake for three from RubyAppleChili's". I know what I'd go for, every single time.
Thus the rise of "craft" and "artisan" stuff. But, it's not a self-supporting market. If I lose my job, the very first thing to go are "artisan donuts", "craft beer", etc.
Actually, I use frivolous stuff like that as a market barometer. So long as people are willing to pay five bucks for a cup of coffee at Starbucks, I figure the economy is doing pretty well. When McDonalds starts cleaning up with its "One Dollar Coffee Deal" ... time to start keeping an eye on my portfolio.
Right, my error. However, while I intended my comment to apply to the pro Socialists, it also seems to fit the Capitalists as well.
Replace the word “Capitalism” with “Free market” and suddenly they are all for it.
Key player in our takedown: The Frankfurt Shool.
Their Marxist-socialists led the infiltration of our schools, unions, parties, churches, media.
They instigated this slow but steady core rotation.
Do they even know what true capitalism is?
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