Viewed from Different Engels? Differences in Reactions to “Socialism” as a Policy Label

Adam L Ozer,Douglas S Van,Brian W Sullivan

doi:10.1177/10659129211037402

Abstract

The supposed popularity of socialism among young Americans has been a trending topic in American political media and campaigns. While evidence from public opinion polls disagrees as to whether socialism is truly gaining in popularity, the use of the term “socialism” has had a profound impact on policy discussions in the media and has featured as a prominent Republican Party strategy in the 2020 election cycle. This gives rise to important questions: How do individuals react to the socialist label? Does the socialist label serve as an ideological or affective signal? Are attacks that frame policies as socialist effective in decreasing policy support? Using original observational and experimental survey data, we find that individuals have strong polarized affective reactions to the socialist label. However, framing popular social welfare policies as socialist is ineffective in undermining popular support. Implications suggest that while framing political policies as socialist may trigger affective polarization, it is likely an ineffective means of political persuasion. As a result, oversaturation of the term in the media may lead to misleading conclusions about both political ideology and individual political behavior.

Highlights

We want to talk about funding social services, and ensuring good engagement in community policing, let’s talk about what we are for
Does using the socialist label as a polarizing frame bolster or undermine support for liberal welfare policies? To test this, we conducted a brief framing experiment that compares levels of policy support based on use of the socialist label and individual socialism disposition
Respondents with positive socialism dispositions are only 18.2 percent likely to feel that the article’s criticisms are a fair critique of socialism as a whole. When those same criticisms are framed as a failing of capitalism, respondents with positive socialism dispositions are 81.6 percent likely to feel that criticisms are fair; a difference of 63.4 percent (p < .01) between frames

Summary

Introduction

We want to talk about funding social services, and ensuring good engagement in community policing, let’s talk about what we are for. In the 2020 election cycle, much had been made about the rise in the popularity of socialism among young voters, typified by eye-catching headlines like “The Resurgent Left—Millennial Socialism” (The Economist 2019) This narrative has been bolstered by the success and popularity of several Democratic Party politicians that have defended socialism and socialist policies, including Congress member Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Bernie Sanders. Upon hearing a term such as “socialism,” individuals will view that information through an affective lens that is colored by their prior experiences and predispositions This process is wholly unconscious, as external stimuli trigger affective considerations that activate associations linking feelings, thoughts, perceptions, and subsequent behavior in a manner consistent with motivated biases (Taber and Lodge 2016)

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