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Americans' views of socialism and capitalism are more complex than they might seem at first glance. Discover why.

Americans' positive ratings of capitalism (60%) and socialism (38%) are unchanged over the past two years, though their ratings of big business are slightly less positive (slipping six percentage points to 46%).

Americans as a whole tilt more negative than positive when asked about "socialism," although understanding of the term varies widely.

Young adults' reaction to the term "capitalism" has grown less positive over the past decade, while their view of socialism has remained steady.

Gallup recently updated a 1949 question about how Americans define socialism. In this episode, two very different experts offer their opinions on the matter.

Asked to define socialism, 24% of Americans mention "equality," while 17% say it is government ownership of the means of production.

While half of Americans view socialism as a bad thing for the country, 43% say it would be a good thing, a much smaller gap than when last measured in 1942.

What does Peter Georgescu think needs to be done to fix capitalism in the U.S.?

Gallup included "socialist" as a standard option for party ID in early polling. Midcentury surveys showed Americans saying U.S. socialism was growing.

While Americans continue to evaluate socialism negatively, they have become somewhat more open to an expanded role for government in solving the country's problems.