Across some major economies, including the U.S., a new study suggests large numbers of people are clamoring for changes in the economic systems that shape the world they live in, from raising taxes on the wealthiest to strengthening the social safety net.
According to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in the late fall of 2020, the desire for a new economic system was the strongest in France, where 70% of those polled called for an outright shift. In the U.S., U.K. and Germany, around 50% of respondents held the view that their countries were due for major changes in economic policy.
However, while there were still divides on exact policy measures, the survey found respondents were largely united on one particular measure: very few people want things to stay as they are, ranging from 3% in France to 12% in the U.S.
Those polled responded warmly to the idea of government-sponsored job and skills training for workers. Other popular ideas included implementing policies targeted at helping those struggling financially, building more public housing, and increasing government benefits to the poor.
Policies aimed at wealth redistribution—raising taxes on the rich and providing a universal basic income (UBI) at the opposite end—drew mixed responses.
“The idea of a government-provided UBI received the least support in each of the four countries among the policies in the survey,” Pew Research said.
The idea of a government-backed income safety net drew the highest support in the U.K., where half of respondents felt it was very important. About 40% of Germans and French felt the same, whereas only 33% of Americans did.
Taxing the rich also got the highest support in the U.K., where 48% of those polled said it is a very important consideration.
In each of the four countries surveyed, those on the ideological left are more likely than those on the right to say it is very important that the national government raise taxes on the wealthy.