Shock Survey: Americans Losing Faith in Capitalism
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Public trust in capitalism in the United States (US) continues to weaken, including among Republican Party supporters. Findings from a number of recent surveys show that more and more citizens believe the US economic system favours the wealthy over the general public, presenting a new challenge to President Donald Trump’s political strategy ahead of the 2026 mid-term elections.
A Fox News poll shows the image of capitalism has fallen sharply in recent years. In 2019, capitalism still enjoyed a net positive rating of 30 points (57% versus 27%), but that figure now stands at just four points, with 50% of respondents holding positive views and 46% negative. The same survey also found that 65% of voters believe “the system is rigged to benefit the rich.”
The most striking shift in attitude has occurred within the Republican Party’s own base. Support for capitalism among this group has fallen from 72% in 2019 to 61% today. Meanwhile, the proportion of Republicans holding “very positive” views of capitalism has slumped from 54% to 41%.
The sentiment that the economic system favours the wealthy is also strengthening among conservatives. In 2018, only 30% of Republican voters considered the economic system “rigged”; that figure has now risen to 42%, reflecting growing frustration with current economic conditions.
The trend is reinforced by several other surveys. A Wall Street Journal-NORC poll in June found that fewer than half of Americans consider capitalism to be working well enough, down from around 60% a decade ago. Meanwhile, a Pew Research Center survey in January showed that 61% of Americans are “very bothered” by the feeling that the wealthy do not pay their fair share of taxes.
The Pew survey also recorded that 60% of respondents believe large corporations do not contribute the taxes they should. Even among voters who tend to support the Republican Party, 42% share that view.
Meanwhile, the image of big business continues to deteriorate. Gallup data shows public perception of big business has shifted from a positive surplus of 19 points in 2012 to a deficit of 25 points last year, reflecting growing public distrust of large corporations.
The situation is seen as opening space for politicians offering major changes to the economic system, including democratic socialist figures such as Bernie Sanders and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Although the label of socialism remains unpopular in the US, both have managed to achieve relatively good levels of public acceptance.
Conservative commentator Meghan McCain even suggested the Republican Party could face a serious challenge if the Democratic Party fields a candidate capable of speaking about economic issues, such as New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani.
“The tone of what he says is brilliant,” McCain wrote on the social media platform X. In her view, although she rejects socialism, that style of delivering an economic message could attract the attention of many voters.
The findings indicate that Trump’s strategy of continually labelling his political opponents as “socialists” or “communists” may no longer be as potent a political weapon as it once was. Issues of economic inequality and declining trust in capitalism now have the potential to become American voters’ primary concerns.