Sign Up For Our Mailing Lists


InsiderOnline Blog: February 2011

Who Else Wants More Economic Freedom?

Free market capitalism is held in high esteem by the citizens of two countries that rank relatively low in economic freedom: China and Brazil. According to a recent survey by the French Institute of Public Opinion, 55 percent of United States citizens say capitalism works well and should be maintained, compared to 13 percent who say it works poorly and must be eliminated. That’s a 4-to-1 ratio. But for Brazilians, the ratio in favor of capitalism is 8-to-1, and for the Chinese the ratio is 22-to-1.

Brazil ranks 113th out of 179 nations in the latest edition of the Heritage Foundation/Wall Street Journal Index of Economic Freedom. China, meanwhile, comes in as only the 135th freest economy in the world. The United States, despite slipping in recent years, still ranks 9th. As Bryan Riley observes at The Foundry, “Perhaps freedom, like many things in life, is something best appreciated it by those who don’t yet have it.”

See: “Perceptions Towards Globalization Across 10 Countries,” French Institute of Public Opinion, January 2011.

Posted on 02/04/11 12:06 PM by Alex Adrianson

Heritage FoundationInsiderOnline is a product of The Heritage Foundation.
214 Massachusetts Avenue NE | Washington DC 20002-4999
ph 202.546.4400 | fax 202.546.8328
© 1995 - 2013 The Heritage Foundation