Summary

How do Americans view socialist policies compared to other countries?

American is more fearful of Socialist Programs than other countries. One major example of this is a portion of an article written by Tom Cole, which states: "With the Democratic Party’s trending embrace of socialist proposals, there is real cause for alarm. This includes bills like Medicare for All, which would pave the way for one-size-fits-all, government-run healthcare." However, the majority of other developed countries already use Universal Healthcare. Amy Chua, Yale Law Professor and Harvard Graduate, also explains that other countries don't handle the same style of government as well as America. In fact, Free-Market Democracy seems to hurt other countries more than it helps.

Who is considered a patriot?

As shown in The Atlantic article, "Captain America, McCarthyism," Captain America (a common character for children) was historically shown to fight Communism and protect American freedom. But pop culture posing Communism as the antithesis of American values necessitates Capitalism being necessary to patriotism.

What values affect different political parties' perceptions on capitalism?

In modern America, Republicans are more likely to value the free-market system and lower taxes, while Democrats are more likely to value how the government serves its citizens. Republicans are more likely to oppose government regulation on the economy, while Democrats are more likely to support regulations. This seems to be a result of Republicans valuing Capitalism more than Democrats, or perhaps, the two groups perceptions' of Capitalism being different.

How does capitalism affect our view on a person’s morality?

Capitalist values are historically seen as necessary to be a good Christian, which has been seen as necessary to be a good American citizen. In Senator Joseph McCarthy's famous speech, "Enemies from Within," he inadvertently proves this unfortunate truth, by saying: "The great difference between our western Christian world and the atheistic Communist world is not political, gentlemen, it is moral." This attaches government regulation to atheism, tying America to Christianity and tying Christianity to Capitalism in one fell swoop. It also poses anti-capitalism as a symptom of immorality.

What percent of elected officials are business owners?

In the United States, about 44% of Congresspeople have had experience in business. In contrast, Statista explains that 10.6% of Americans have business experience. This is a big difference, because this means business-people are disproportionately, at 4x as many congresspeople having business experience as regular individuals. However, people in business and interested in business have also been shown to be more active in the political process. It is possible that this increased activity promotes the desire for business-people to run. However, this still most likely has roots in Capitalism, since they are more empowered to run.