While Democrats and Republicans have grown further apart on political issues and tensions between left and right-wing have risen, a new Pew survey has found that both liberals and conservatives see large corporations in a negative light – and that figure is growing larger.
According to the survey, 71% of conservatives and 80% of liberals said large corporations have a negative effect on the situation in the US, while 60% of conservatives and 65% of liberals said large banks had a negative effect on the nation.
While the number of right-wing respondents who said large corporations had a positive effect on society was as large as 54% in 2019, it has dropped to just 26%. Just 25% of Independents and left-wing respondents said large corporations had a positive effect on society.
Financial institutions and technology companies also saw a decrease in popular support. 63% of right-wing respondents said banks and other financial institutions had a positive effect on society, while 58% said the same about tech companies – figures that have dropped to 38% and 40% respectively.
Left-wing support slightly rises, though still low
While just 41% of left-wing respondents said banks and other financial institutions had a positive effect on society, that figure was actually up from 2019, when a mere 37% of respondents agreed with the statement. Left-wing support for large corporations, while just 25%, was up from 23% in 2019. 58% of left-wing respondents said they believe tech companies have a positive impact – the same figure as in 2019.
Small businesses vs corporations
While corporations have reached a high in unfavorability, small businesses continue to be seen as essential to American society. A staggering 80% of respondents said they had a positive view on small businesses – far more than the military (62%), K-12 public schools (55%) and religious organizations (53%).
Further, support for small businesses has proven to be bipartisan, with 79% of republicans and 83% of democrats saying small business impact society positively. When it came to religious organizations, technology companies, K-12 schools, labor unions and—most notably—colleges and universities, left-wing and right-wing respondents had tremendous ideological differences.
Despite ideological differences on most topics mentioned in the survey, left-wing and right-wing respondents largely agreed that large corporations and financial institutions have done more harm than good in recent times – as opposed to small businesses, which many see as a fundamental bedrock of American society.