Liberals are in the majority
on most US social and policy issues
2 min readMay 10, 2018
Health Care
- 60% think “health care coverage is the federal government’s responsibility” (Pew 2017)
- 58% favor government-funded single-payer health care (Gallup 2016)
- 53% approve of the Affordable Care Act (Gallup 2017)
Immigration
- 65% believe “immigrants strengthen the country” (Pew 2017)
- 68% think “America’s openness to people from all over the world is essential to who we are as a nation” (Pew 2017)
- 49% think immigrants help, rather than harm, the U.S. economy (Gallup 2017) ¹
Sexism
- 55% believe “there are still significant obstacles that make it harder for women to get ahead than men” (Pew 2017)
- 69% believe sexual harassment in the workplace is “a major problem” (Gallup 2017)
Racism
- 61% “our country needs to continue making changes to give blacks equal rights with whites (Pew 2017)
- 41% “racial discrimination is the main reason why many black people can’t get ahead these days” (Pew 2017) ²
LGBTQ
- 70% think “homosexuality should be accepted by society” (Pew 2017)
- 62% favor “allowing gays and lesbians to marry legally” (Pew 2017)
Poverty & Inequality
- 65% think “the economic system in this country unfairly favors powerful interests” (Pew 2017)
- 62% say the government does not provide enough help for poor people (Pew 2018)
- 63% believe upper-income Americans pay too little in taxes (Gallup 2017)
Business
- 50% believe “government regulation of business is necessary to protect the public interest” (Pew 2017)
- 59% agree “business corporations make too much profit” (Pew 2017)
- 67% believe corporations pay too little in taxes (Gallup 2017)
Environment & Climate Change
- 59% think “stricter environmental laws and regulations are worth the cost” (Pew 2017)
- 53% believe “the earth is getting warmer mostly because of human activity such as burning fossil fuels” (Pew 2017)
- 62% say government is doing too little to protect the environment (Gallup 2017)
Religion
- 56% believe “it is not necessary to believe in God in order to be moral and have good values” (Pew 2017)
- 49% believe “the Islamic religion does not encourage violence more than other [religions]” (Pew 2017) ¹
Military & Firearms
- 61% favor diplomacy over military strength (Pew 2017)
- 67% want stricter laws covering the sale of firearms (Gallup 2018)
¹ Not a majority, but still a plurality.
² Although the conservative viewpoint currently has a plurality (49% to 41%), but the liberal side was up 9 points in just the last year; if this rapid shift continues, liberals will have it in 2018.