The policy preferences of the public would give the leadership of *any* mainstream party the fantods. Here's a remarkable thread where the economic anthropologist Jason Hickel summarizes recent polling on public preferences:

x.com/jasonhickel/status/19531…

* "Capitalism does more harm than good" (56% globally; 69% in France; 74% in India)

edelman.com/news-awards/2020-e…

* In 28 of 34 countries, the majority are anti-capitalist:

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10…

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2020 Edelman Trust Barometer Reveals Growing Sense of Inequality Is Undermining Trust in Institutions

Majority believe capitalism in current form does more harm than good business fills trust void left by government, becomes most trusted institution.

^Edelman

* A majority of Canadians, Australians and Britons aged 18-34 believe "socialism will improve the economy and well-being of citizens":

jacobin.com/2023/03/socialism-…

* 62% of Americans aged 18-30 "hold favorable views of socialism" (61% of Democrats have a positive view of socialism vs 50% who are positive on capitalism):

cato.org/blog/81-say-they-cant…

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Even Right-Wing Think Tanks Are Finding High Support for Socialism

Poll after poll after poll keeps showing high levels of support for socialism in the United States and Canada — even when it’s conservatives doing the polling.

^jacobin.com

* Majority of youth climate group members blame "a system that puts profit over people and planet" and 89% say that system is capitalism:

climatevanguard.org/publicatio…

* Majority support a national job guarantee (72% UK, 78% US; 79% France):

jasonhickel.org/blog/2023/11/2…

* Majority of Americans support workplace democracy (unions, worker shareholders and board seats):

cambridge.org/core/journals/am…

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How popular are post-capitalist ideas? Some recent data

Here is a list of studies, surveys and polling results that shed some light on popular perceptions of post-capitalist ideas. I will seek to update this list periodically. Support for post-capitalism 1.

^{Jason Hickel}

* Majority of Britons support public ownership of services (education, healthcare, rail, water, postal service, parks); 64% of Americans support universal public health care; 64% support public options for internet, child care, and housing;

jasonhickel.org/blog/2023/11/2…

* 74% of Britons support national, permanent rent-controls; 71% of Bay Staters and 55% of Californians agree:

jasonhickel.org/blog/2023/11/2…

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How popular are post-capitalist ideas? Some recent data

Here is a list of studies, surveys and polling results that shed some light on popular perceptions of post-capitalist ideas. I will seek to update this list periodically. Support for post-capitalism 1.

^{Jason Hickel}

* 72% of Americans support a living wage; 87% of Britons agree:

jasonhickel.org/blog/2023/11/2…

* 84% of Europeans support a millionaires' tax; 69% of Americans agree:

wid.world/document/internation…

* Majority of people in 40 countries want 4:1 maximum pay ratios for CEOs and their lowest-paid workers:

journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.11…

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How popular are post-capitalist ideas? Some recent data

Here is a list of studies, surveys and polling results that shed some light on popular perceptions of post-capitalist ideas. I will seek to update this list periodically. Support for post-capitalism 1.

^{Jason Hickel}

* 71% of Europeans want transformational reform of the UN and IMF, with proportional votes based on member-states' populations (58% of Americans agree):

wid.world/document/internation…

* Majorities of Europeans and Americans support "compensating low-income countries for climate damages, funding renewable energy in low-income countries, and supporting low-income countries to adapt to climate change":

wid.world/document/internation…

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* 80-90% of people in medium/high-income countries want to finance this with a global tax on millionaires:

wid.world/document/internation…

Hickel's thread reminded of the 2023 Pew report that found that:

* 65% of Americans feel exhausted when thinking about politics;

* 63% have little/no confidence in the US political system;

* 4% think the US system works well:

pluralistic.net/2023/10/18/the…

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Unsurprisingly:

* 87% of Americans want Congressional term limits;

* 79% favor age limits for Congress and the Supreme Court;

* 62% support automatic voter-registration for every American;

* 65% want to abolish the Electoral College (47% of Republicans agree!);

* 70% believe voters have too little influence over their representatives;

* 83% of Republicans say big donors call the shots (80% of Dems agree);

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* 72% of Americans want to limit campaign contributions (75% D/71% R);

* 58% of Americans believe it is possible to get money out of politics.

So on the one hand, this is all pretty dismal. It also makes the trend towards electing anti-democratic politicians who want to abolish elections a lot easier to understand.

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