Stakeholder Capitalism isn’t socialism. But, are we even clear what socialism is?
Did you know that 43% of Americans embrace some form of socialism? According to a 2019 Gallup poll, that’s a +18% increase compared to in 1942.
But do we even know what socialism is? Even those in Nordic countries wouldn’t call their economies socialist, rather they would say they are social democracies with a mixed economy (Source: Freakonomics podcast below). Putting the politics in this article aside, Thomas Friedman explains the success of Denmark:
“[Denmark is] democratic but not socialist.
Denmark is actually a hypercompetitive, wide-open, market economy devoted to free trade and expanding globalization, since trade — exports and imports — makes up roughly half of Denmark’s G.D.P.
Indeed, Denmark’s 5.8 million people have produced some of the most globally competitive multinationals in the world…”
In the survey, U.S. respondents were associating socialism with:
Social equality - ~25%
Some government control over production – 17%
Yet, the survey also found that most respondents wanted the Free Market (vs. Government) to be responsible for things like:
Technological innovation – 75%
The distribution of wealth – 68%
The economy overall – 62%
Wages – 62%
Where they wanted more Government responsibility was with:
Environmental protection – 66%
Protecting consumers’ privacy online – 57%
Want to learn more about Socialism and why there’s confusion?
Here’s a great podcast from Freakonomics to elucidate more about the definitions, country comparisons, and how trust in institutions and a country’s culture can play a role in governing structures.
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