Truth not everyone will like: Capitalism does more harm than good

There's more trust in business than in governments

A majority of people in the world believe that capitalism in its current form is doing more harm than good, revealed a poll carried out ahead of this week's meeting in Davos of the world's political and economic elites.

Edelman Trust Barometer, who have been polling tens of thousands of people over the past two decades about their opinion on key institutions, this year for the first time tried to find out what people think about capitalism.

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The study's authors say that earlier surveys that showed a growing sense of inequality that made them ask citizens whether they had begun to develop deeper doubts about capitalism-based Western democracies.

"The answer is 'yes'," said David Bersoff, SVP Global Thought Leadership Research at Edelman, a US company.

"People are questioning whether what we have today and the world we live in today is ideal for their future," Bersoff said.

34,000 people from 28 countries participated in the survey. Citizens of Western liberal democracies such as the US and France, as well as China and Russia, took part. More than half of all respondents, 56 percent, believe that "today's capitalism is doing more harm than good in the world."

A survey launched in 2000 sought to verify the theories of political philosopher Francis Fukuyama, who said after the fall of communism that liberal democracy was now considered "the end of history."

But since then, critics have disagreed, pointing out to a range of things - from China's growing influence and the widespread emergence of autocratic leaders, to trade protectionism and growing inequalities due to the 2007/2008 global financial crisis.

At the national level, the lack of trust in capitalism is most prevalent in Thailand (75 percent), India (74 percent) and France (69 percent). In other Asian and European countries and those in the Persian Gulf, as well as in African and Latin American countries, the rating of over 50 percent prevails.

Only in Australia, Canada, the US, South Korea, Hong Kong and Japan most respondents disagreed with the claim that capitalism is currently doing more harm than good.

The survey confirmed different types of citizens' concerns, ranging from rapid technological development and job insecurity, to a lack of trust in the media and a sense that national governments do not know how to handle today's challenges.

The data varies, so Asians are more optimistic than others in the world when it comes to economic prospects. Opinions also differ depending on status, so those better educated have more trust in how things are being done.

Corporate leaders gathering in Davos this week may be interested in finding out that trust in business is higher than that in governments, and that 92 percent of employees believe CEOs should speak about current social and ethical issues.

"Business has leapt into the void left by populist and partisan government," CEO Richard Edelman said.

(Telegraf Biznis/Guardian)