Is socially responsible capitalism truly polarizing?

• Published in: Social science quarterly Vol. 105; no. 4; pp. 1368 - 1382
• Main Authors: Stone, Daniel F., Lees, Jeffrey
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.07.2024
• Subjects: Accuracy; Capitalism; Climate change; Polarization; Political parties; Polls & surveys; Social responsibility
• ISSN: 0038-4941; 1540-6237
• DOI: 10.1111/ssqu.13395

Objective We assess the hypothesis that socially responsible capitalism (SRC) is fundamentally partisan and primarily supported by people on the left, or whether this perception is another example of “false polarization”—overestimation of disagreement between the left and right. Methods We conduct two studies: (1) a survey of Americans' opinions on a general definition of SRC and five examples of recent prominent firm actions corresponding to distinct areas of SRC (n = 1000, representative sample) and (2) an incentivized survey on second‐order beliefs about results from the first survey (n = 605, quota‐matched convenience sample). We conduct statistical tests of the accuracy of second‐order beliefs about polarization between Democrats and Republicans in support for SRC and correlates of this accuracy. Results Large majorities of Democrats and Republicans support examples of corporate behavior from three of the five areas of SRC, but opinions are somewhat divided across the parties on support for SRC as a concept, and highly divided for the SRC examples on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and climate change. Both Democrats and Republicans generally underestimate SRC support from partisans on both sides except for DEI, which both parties overestimate support for. SRC support is especially underestimated by people opposed to SRC and people with no opinion on SRC. Democrats overestimate polarization in support for SRC. Overestimation of polarization in SRC support is correlated with affective polarization. Conclusion Bipartisan support for SRC is underappreciated, but some aspects of SRC are polarizing or even more polarizing than commonly perceived. Republican opposition to SRC may be partially due to underestimation of copartisan support for SRC. A focus in the news and popular discourse on the more polarizing aspects of SRC may contribute to a general perception that support for SRC is more polarized than it truly is.