A new poll finds that two-thirds of Americans believe there is a “strong” or “very strong” conflict in the U.S. between the rich and the poor.
The Pew Research Center survey, compared to other polls they’ve done shows that class warfare is viewed as a major conflict by 66 percent of Americans, while only 38 percent describe relations between blacks and whites in the same way. The only subject that comes close is the conflict between immigrants and native-born Americans, which is viewed as a troublesome divide by 62 percent of survey respondents.
So, is this perception based on envy, or anger, or a little of both?
Some 43 percent believe that the rich become so because of their own hard work, ambition or education, the poll showed, compared with 46 percent who believe that the wealthy become rich through connections or birth.
And these attitudes seem to be shared regardless of income level, according to The Washington Post. Nearly 67 percent of adults with a household income of less than $20,000 a year believe there are serious conflicts between the rich and poor, as do 67 percent of those earning $75,000 a year or more.
Also of interest in the Pew poll is that the conflict between rich and poor is viewed similarly by all income classes, partisan stripes, and ages.
Among different income groups, those who perceive a strong conflict: 64 percent of those making less than $20,000; 66 percent of those between $20,000 and $40,000; 71 percent of the $40,000 to $75,000 crowd; and 67 percent of those in the $75,000-plus cohort.
The differences along partisan lines, by 2012 standards, is also similar. Seventy-three percent of Democrats, 68 percent of independents, and 55 percent of Republicans see strong conflicts between the rich and the poor. As the Post points out, that’s a majority across-the-board.
Here’s the analysis offered by Ezra Klein of the Post:
“One possible interpretation is that this isn’t a conflict between the haves and the have-nots. Perhaps it’s a conflict between the worked-for-everything-they-haves and the got-a-leg-ups. … But if you look into the guts of the poll, this belief has only a modest effect on attitudes. Three-quarters of those who believe the rich are rich through connections or birth see a class conflict, and so do 60 percent of those who believe the rich are rich through their own sweat and toil.
“Note, too, that the percentage of Americans detecting serious conflict between the rich and the poor has risen 20 percent from 2009. Whether that’s because of economic stress, or the rebounding profits of Wall Street amidst the stagnation of Main Street, or Occupy Wall Street, or the rhetoric of Democrats and Republicans, is unclear. But it’s a sharp rise — and a worrying trend in public opinion for a candidate like Mitt Romney, who was born into wealth, and who made much of his money in ways that often did lead to serious conflict between the interests of the workers at a plant or store and the interests of Romney and his investors.”
The Post offers an interactive graphic on income disparities here.
