{
  "id": 9364756,
  "title": "The Economic Choice Americans Aren’t Being Offered | Opinion",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/23/the-economic-choice-americans-arent-being-offered-opinion",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-23T15:56:26.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Newsweek",
    "slug": "newsweek",
    "url": "https://www.newsweek.com/the-economic-choice-americans-arent-being-offered-opinion-12476546"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "America's debate over capitalism is intensifying as support for the system declines. A Gallup survey from 2025 revealed that only 54 percent of Americans view capitalism favorably, the lowest approval rating Gallup has ever recorded. Simultaneously, socialism did not gain much traction, with just 39 percent expressing positive views. The data suggest a deeper issue: many people are unhappy with the limited economic opportunities presented to them. The conversation surrounding the future of the economy has become a binary choice: defend the current capitalist system or advocate for a more socialist approach with increased government involvement. This is an oversimplified option. It is possible to maintain entrepreneurship, competition, and private enterprise while also increasing the number of people who benefit from the wealth generated by these forces. Capitalism has led to remarkable innovation, businesses, and economic growth in America. Undermining it would forfeit the very incentives that make entrepreneurship viable. However, championing the system should not mean overlooking its inequitable distribution of benefits. When individuals contribute their labor to thriving companies yet remain unable to amass financial security, discontent with the system is bound to arise. Therefore, the problem lies not with capitalism itself, but with ownership. Employees, members, and producers often work hard in successful ventures without receiving a substantial share of the value they help create. A more equitable model would involve structures that enable these participants to share more directly in economic success. This is not about government ownership; it is about private enterprise with more owners. Evidence supports this assertion. The International Cooperative Alliance states that at least 12 percent of the world's population is part of cooperatives, and the world's 300 largest cooperatives and mutuals generated $2.79 trillion in combined revenue in 2023. Regardless of the terminology used, these statistics prove that cooperative and member-owned enterprises can thrive on a massive scale. This matters because ownership alters the economic equation. Wages provide for today's needs, while ownership offers the chance to participate in future value creation. When more people accumulate assets and share in the success of businesses, economic growth becomes a personal experience rather than a distant statistic. The alternative is a perilous cycle where ownership concentrates, leaving millions feeling marginalized from economic advancement. This fuels dissatisfaction with capitalism, prompting politicians to offer increasingly extreme solutions, and voters to gravitate toward arguments about whether the government should intervene heavily or minimally. The real question remains unanswered: Why not grant more people the opportunity to build wealth through market-based mechanisms? Broader ownership also provides something that government assistance cannot: active participation. Safety nets are essential during hardships, but the ultimate goal of economic policy should be to create more avenues toward financial independence. People should have opportunities not just to receive help when the economy fails them, but to be part of the upside when it thrives. This represents capitalism with a moral compass, but it is also capitalism with a more robust support base. An economic system becomes more resilient when more individuals have a tangible reason to believe in its success. Business leaders, investors, and policymakers should incorporate broad ownership as a key metric in economic decision-making. Large employers should disclose annually the percentage of equity, profit-sharing, or equivalent ownership benefits received by non-executive workers. Boards and investors should assess this figure alongside traditional measures of growth, compensation, and shareholder returns. Policymakers should eliminate financing and tax barriers that disadvantage broad-ownership structures. The next economic discourse should not compel Americans to choose between preserving capitalism and rejecting it. Instead, we should inquire how many more individuals can become part of it. Capitalism does not require fewer winners; it requires more owners. Howard Brodsky, co-founder and Chairman of CCA, one of the world's largest cooperatively owned business networks, and co-founder, CEO, and Chairman of The Principle 6 Cooperative, emphasizes this perspective.",
  "summary": "Capitalism has produced innovation, but defending the system cannot mean pretending its benefits are reaching enough people.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}