Global discontent over capitalism 20 yrs after fall of Berlin Wall

Twenty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, a new BBC World Service global poll finds that dissatisfaction with free market capitalism is widespread and majorities would like their government to own the industries, particularly in the countries of the former Soviet states of Russia and Ukraine.

Only 11 per cent of the 27 countries say that capitalism works well and greater regulation is not a good idea.

In only two countries - the US (25 per cent) and Pakistan (21 per cent) - more than one in five, feel that capitalism works well as it stands. A majority of the people in 15 of the 27 countries feel that their government should be more active in directly controlling their major industries, not only in the former Soviet states of Russia(77 per cent) and Ukraine(75 per cent), but also in Brazil(64 per cent), Indonesia(65 per cent) and France(57 per cent). In Pakistan, one-third favour lesser active role for government in the ownership and control of major industries, while 24 per cent favour more of an active role and 20 per cent favour its present role.

The most common view is that free market capitalism has problems that can be addressed through regulation and reform - a view held by an average 51 per cent of more than 29,000 people polled by the international polling firm Globescan/CVoter.

An average of 23 per cent around the globe feel that capitalism is fatally flawed and a new economic system is needed, highest in France(43 per cent).

Majorities support government to distribute wealth evenly in 22 of the 27 countries - on average two out of three (67 per cent) across all countries. In 17 of the 27 nations, most want to see the government doing more to regulate business - on average, 56 per cent.

Pakistanis are divided on whether their government should have more (34 per cent) or less (32 per cent) of an active role in distributing wealth evenly.

An average of 54 per cent say the break-up of Soviet Union was a good thing, but this view was held in only 15 of the nations polled.

Among former Warsaw Pact nations, most Russians (61 per cent) and Ukrainians (54 per cent) believe the break-up was a bad thing. In contrast, four in five Poles(80 per cent) and nearly two-thirds of Czechs feel that the disintegration of the USSR was a good thing (63 per cent).

Europeans particularly call the disintegration of the USSR a good thing with very large majorities in Germany (79 per cent), the UK (76 per cent) and France (74 per cent) feeling this way. The strongest consensus was understandably in the US where 81 per cent say the end of the Soviet Union was mainly good. Major developed nations like Australia (73 per cent) and Canada (73 per cent) also hold the same view. One-third of Pakistanis think that the disintegration of the Soviet Union was mainly a bad thing and one in four (24 per cent) think it was mainly good (42 per cent did not answer).

-- (UNI) -- 09DI53.xml

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