Sunday, December 15, 2024

Socialism tops capitalism in popularity among Britons, new poll shows

Yesterday
LEFT FOOT FORWARD


'We won't get socialism with a Murdoch right wing press.'



A new YouGov poll shows that socialism is more popular than capitalism among Britons.

The “Which political ideologies do Britons have a positive view of?“ survey analysed public opinion on 12 different ideologies.

Environmentalism is the most favoured ideology, with 64% of respondents expressing a positive view about concern and action aimed at protecting the environment.

This was closely followed by feminism (56%) and liberalism (41%). Socialism is the fourth most popular ideology, with the support of 38% of Britons, surpassing capitalism at 30%.

Other beliefs, including conservatism (32%), nationalism (29%), libertarianism (24%), and populism (13%), were less favoured.

Communism was supported by 10% of those surveyed, while anarchism and fascism received 8% and 2% support, respectively.

In response to the poll, readers recalled clips of former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn advocating for socialism. One notable moment was his keynote speech at the Labour conference in 2016, when he promised “21st century socialism” for Britain, taxing the super-rich, pouring money into new council houses and blocking arms sales to abusive regimes.

Interestingly, but perhaps not surprisingly, the right-wing media largely ignored the YouGov poll, with UnHerd being one of the few outlets to write about it.

Founded by billionaire hedge fund manager Paul Marshall who, earlier this year, sealed a £100m takeover of the Spectator magazine, UnHerd took the opportunity to criticise Corbyn, saying that Britons had rejected socialism in the 2017 and 2019 elections when he led Labour.

The outlet also sought to defend capitalism, arguing that the term has become associated with negative aspects of the system, such as corporate greed, but that alternative terms like “free market” are more positively received by the public.

However, judging by some of the readers’ comments, many seemed to resonate with the survey’s findings. One commenter expressed hope, saying:

“Yay. I do hope that’s true. I mean why wouldn’t you…The pursuit of a fairer more equal society that supports the vulnerable and looks after us all…. What’s not to like?”

Another bluntly noted the media’s role:

“We won’t get socialism with a Murdoch right wing press.”

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