Why Are Republicans Rethinking Capitalism?
Support for capitalism has long been central to Republican economic thinking, reflecting a belief that private ownership, competition and free enterprise offer the best route to prosperity. Yet new polling suggests that Republican confidence in the system is weakening.A new Fox News survey found that 61 percent of Republicans viewed capitalism favorably, down from 72 percent in 2019, while the share with a strongly favorable opinion has fallen from 54 percent to 41 percent. Republicans remain capitalism's firmest supporters, but the decline points to growing dissatisfaction with how the economy operates in practice, particularly as more Americans conclude that it favors the wealthy over ordinary workers.The downturn in support comes as affordability woes continue to plague American households, despite the Trump administration's promise to lower prices and bring inflation under control. For some, experts say, this is beginning to erode a long-standing faith in capitalism as a source of prosperity.Republican Support for Capitalism NarrowsThe Fox News survey, conducted from July 17 to 20, interviewed 1,003 registered voters randomly selected from a national voter file.In 2019, 57 percent of registered voters viewed capitalism favorably and 27 percent viewed it unfavorably, giving it a net favorability rating of 30 points. While Republicans continue to be capitalism's strongest supporters, their backing has also weakened. Today, 50 percent hold a favorable opinion while 46 percent have an unfavorable one, reducing that advantage to 4 points.The findings coincide with broader doubts about economic fairness. Sixty-five percent of voters now believe "the system is rigged to favor the wealthy," compared with 56 percent during President Donald Trump's first term—which ran from 2017 to 2021.Are Americans Turning on Capitalism?Capitalism generally rests on private ownership, competition and the freedom of individuals and companies to decide what to buy, produce or invest in. Prices are established through interactions between buyers and sellers, while government plays a limited role in protecting rights and maintaining functioning markets.In the U.S., companies account for much of the country's production and investment, while the government regulates economic activity, administers public programs and intervenes when policymakers decide that support or stabilization is needed.For some voters, however, capitalism has become associated with corporate influence, unaffordable necessities and increased wealth for the wealthy.That unease is not confined to Republicans. A Wall Street Journal-NORC survey published earlier this month found that slightly fewer than half of Americans believe capitalism is working very or somewhat well. About a decade ago, 60 percent said the same. Only 35 percent are at least fairly confident that Americans still have opportunities to secure good jobs and achieve the American Dream.The polling does not indicate that Republicans have abandoned capitalism. A clear majority still views it favorably. However, it may suggest that the system is losing some of its grip as voters believe housing, wages and everyday costs are working against them, and that the benefits of the system are being distributed unfairly.Patrick Allocco, the founder and CEO of Zoose and publisher of the Zoose Political Index, told Newsweek the results should not be interpreted as a Republican turn toward a different economic model."Republicans are not becoming socialists," he said. "They are rejecting fake capitalism—the kind where elites get bailouts, corporations get protection, and working families get the bill." The polling also supports this: 85 percent of MAGA-aligned and 84 percent of non-MAGA-aligned Republicans strongly reject socialism."It is not a rejection of capitalism itself. It is a rejection of what many Republicans view as fake capitalism—a system where the connected get protection, the politically favored get bailouts, and ordinary workers get told to be grateful while prices, housing, insurance and interest rates crush their families," Allocco continued."Republicans are not calling for socialism," he added. "They are calling for capitalism to actually work again. They want competition. They want small businesses to survive. They want work to be rewarded. They want families to be able to buy homes. They want corporations held accountable when they use government power, global labor markets or monopolistic behavior to squeeze ordinary Americans. That is not socialism. That is a demand for a healthier free-market system."...How Affordability Is Shaping Economic AttitudesAllocco said Republican voters have become more working-class and populist, making them increasingly suspicious of arrangements that appear to protect large corporations while offering less security to workers and small businesses."A great deal of it is explained by inflation and affordability. But again, that does not mean voters are turning socialist. It means voters are judging the economy by lived reality, not by slogans," he said.Christopher Lee, a partner at Foresight Strategic Advisors who has worked in politics for more than 30 years, similarly identified the cost of living as a significant source of discontent. He argued that voters judge economic conditions through what they pay rather than through official inflation figures."Voters shop on prices, not on inflation rates. And trying to play the smoke and mirrors game telling people inflation is down falls flat when their gas/groceries receipts—their own bottom line—says otherwise," Lee told Newsweek.Lee said voters have not received the improvements in affordability and taxation they were promised during the last election cycle. Trump repeatedly promised on his road to the White House that he would bring prices down and tackle affordability, following several years of high inflation owing to the coronavirus pandemic."Starting the day I take the oath of office, I will rapidly drive prices down and we will make America affordable again," he said at a rally in Pennsylvania in August 2024. "We're going to make it affordable again."Affordability in the U.S. has remained broadly flat during Trump's second term, rather than improving significantly. Between December 2024 and June 2026, overall prices rose about 4.7 percent, while inflation-adjusted hourly earnings increased 0.8 percent. Groceries climbed roughly 4.3 percent, shelter 5.4 percent and electricity 12.7 percent. Gasoline was about 32.5 percent higher by June. But that rise largely followed the 2026 Middle East energy shock, and prices have since begun retreating.Not every change can be attributed directly to Trump. Housing shortages predate his administration, and the Federal Reserve controls interest rates. His tariffs have, however, raised the cost of imported goods, with the Federal Reserve estimating a 3.1 percent increase in core-goods prices relative to where they otherwise would have been.New tax deductions have helped some households, but the overall picture remains uneven. While some may be better off under the administration's policies, that fortune does not affect all households equally.A White House spokesperson told Newsweek that "since he took office, President Trump’s economic agenda has created hundreds of thousands of jobs, raised real wages, turned around Biden’s manufacturing job decline, secured trillions in investments, lowered prescription drug prices, and reduced America’s goods trade deficit. The entire Trump administration is focused on delivering more economic progress for the American people."Lee described the shift in attitudes as a demand to repair capitalism rather than discard it. "Voters also don't want the New Deal or a European model," he said. "They want the deal they were promised—companies that win and hire here, wages that keep up, a tax code that isn't written for someone else. It's reform they want, not replacement. And the GOP is standing in the way and exactly where angry fingers are being pointed."Contact Newsweek editors on this story: John Fitzpatrick and Shakeema Edwards.Update, 07/29/26 12:01 p.m. ET: this article was updated with comment from a White House spokesperson.
