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Gallup: U.S. Support for Capitalism Falls to Record Low of 54%

Skepticism of corporate America has intensified, with free enterprise plus small business still widely liked.

It follows after another poll found a whopping 70% of U.S. citizens think the American Dream of working hard to get ahead “no longer holds true or never did.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., left, and New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani greet the crowd during a town hall on Saturday, Sept, 6, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Olga Fedorova)
FILE - Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., pauses while speaking at George Washington University in Washington, June 12, 2019, on his policy of democratic socialism, the economic philosophy that has guided his political career. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)
Zohran Mamdani, New York City mayoral candidate, during a campaign event in the Queens borough of New York, US, on Thursday, June 19, 2025. The mayoral race has become one of the most crowded in recent memory, with at least nine Democrats with significant fundraising numbers running in this month's primary. Photographer: Adam Gray/Bloomberg

Overview

  • Gallup’s Aug. 1–20 telephone survey of 1,094 adults finds 54% view capitalism positively, the lowest reading since the question began in 2010, with a ±4-point margin of error.
  • For the first time in the series, fewer than half of Democrats view capitalism favorably at 42%, while 66% of Democrats hold a positive view of socialism.
  • Overall favorability toward socialism stands at 39%; Republicans remain strongly pro-capitalism at 74% with just 14% positive on socialism, and independents come in at 51% favorable to capitalism and 38% to socialism.
  • Views of big business have dropped to 37% positive, even as free enterprise draws 81% favorable ratings and small business 95%.
  • Younger adults are the most skeptical of capitalism, with only 43% of those ages 18–34 viewing it positively, a pattern echoed in recent coverage linking changing attitudes to prominent democratic-socialist figures.