Competing ideals: 57% of Americans say socialism is incompatible with U.S. values - but just 42% view the economic philosophy negatively Less than a third (29%) of Americans say socialism is compatible with U.S. values Just 10% have a positive opinion of socialism, while 45% took a neutral view Yet 58% of Americans somewhat or strongly favor universal health careBy Valerie Bauman Social Affairs Reporter For Dailymail.com Published: 20:10 BST, 7 May 2019 | Updated: 02:39 BST, 8 May 2019 10 shares 26 Viewcomments A majority (57 percent) of Americans say socialism is incompatible with this country's values, but only 42 percent have a negative opinion of the philosophy, according to a new survey. Less than a third (29 percent) said socialism is compatible with U.S. values, according to the survey of 801 Americans by Monmouth University Poll. Additionally, 10 percent said they have a positive opinion of socialism, while 45 percent took a neutral view. 'We shouldn't ignore the possibility that 'neutral' could be a way for some Americans, especially Democrats, to couch their policy preferences without using a term that has historically negative connotations,' said Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute. This graph illustrates the share of Americans who have positive, negative and neutral views about capitalism vs. socialism. Source: Monmouth University Poll 'This is going to be a real challenge for left-leaning candidates in the 2020 presidential race,' he added. 'The party base seems to be saying, 'We like your platform, just don't use the word socialism to describe it.' Some 58 percent of Americans said they somewhat or strongly favor a universal health care system for the U.S. – which would seemingly contradict resistance to socialism. However, just 37 percent of Americans said they consider universal health care to be socialist policy, while 53 percent said it was neither socialist nor capitalist. 'We may be in a period of flux with how these economic systems are viewed,' Murray said. 'Socialism still carries a stigma, but many Americans feel they are being left behind by the current capitalist system. Policies that have traditionally been seen as socialist may be getting more popular even if the term itself is not.' Still, 39 percent of Americans said they have a positive opinion of capitalism, while 40 percent felt neutral about it and 17 percent took a negative view of the philosophy. Researchers said America divides into two 'dominant camps' – the 29 percent who view capitalism positively and the 30 percent who have neutral opinions on both philosophies. This graph breaks out how Americans feel about a universal health care system in the U.S., with the largest share strongly in favor of such a policy. Source: Monmouth University Poll The remaining 41 percent have mixed feelings and ideas about the two different economic systems. Most pro-capitalist/anti-socialist Americans are Republicans (49 percent) or lean Republican (29 percent). That group tends to be older; 47 percent are age 55 and older, while 34 percent are age 35-54 and just 19 percent are age 34 or younger. Additionally, nearly two-thirds (64 percent) are men, while just 36 percent are women. In the neutral camp, 46 percent are self-described Democrats or Democrat-leaning (17 percent). This population skews younger, with 37 percent age 18-34, 30 percent age 35-54 and 33 percent who are 55 and older. This group is also slightly more likely to be female (55 percent) than male (45 percent). 'We've seen younger voters trending more Democratic in recent elections, which has played a role in the party shifting leftward,' Murray said. 'This means socialism is poised to become a defining feature of the 2020 presidential contest. Will progressive Democrats be able to redefine the term or will the GOP be successful at vilifying this agenda as anti-American?' Read more: Share or comment on this article: All rights reserved for this news site dailymail and under his responsibility