Americans may dislike the word “socialism,” but when asked whether government should solve their problems, many still place their faith, incorrectly, in the hands of government. 

A new CBS News/YouGov poll found that 46 percent of Americans view capitalism positively, compared with 35 percent who view socialism positively. When “capitalism” is replaced with “the free market,” support becomes much stronger: 66 percent say the free market is good for the U.S. economy. 

But those numbers become more complicated when voters are asked about specific policies. Many Americans appear to support free markets in theory without fully understanding what a free-market system entails in practice. When the poll asked about price controls, the overwhelming majority, including of Republicans, said they actually favored them. 

While 72 percent of Republicans said they had a positive view of capitalism, only 46 percent opposed price controls. That means 54 percent of Republicans supported them, alongside 62 percent of independents and 75 percent of Democrats. The results reveal an uncomfortable reality, that Americans may reject the label of socialism, but are still willing to embrace the government intervention that makes it possible.

The problem is multifaceted. It is not only a failure of education; it also reinforces a point Vice President JD Vance made last week: repeating free-market dogma is not the same as actually practicing free-market principles. A real free-market agenda requires Republicans to place more faith in the dispersed knowledge, judgment, and adaptability of individuals than in a powerful centralized government. 

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It means embracing supply-side economics, deregulation, lower and simpler taxes, the elimination of wasteful subsidies, and an end to protectionist policies that insulate domestic producers from competition. It means making it easier to build homes, start businesses, develop energy, hire workers, and bring new technologies to market. It means treating the economy not as a government jobs program, but as an engine of prosperity, innovation, and technological advancement. 

That also means refusing to adopt socialist diagnoses for economic problems. 

Housing is not expensive simply because of “greedy corporations;” it is expensive because housing supply has been constrained by zoning, permitting delays, building restrictions, and local opposition to development. Gas is not expensive because oil companies seek profit; it is expensive because of government imposed taxes, production limits, refinery constraints, and regulatory barriers. Healthcare is not unaffordable because doctors, insurers, or pharmaceutical companies are uniquely greedy; the costs are primarily shaped by government-driven distortions, limited competition, licensing barriers, and an insurance system that separates consumers from the prices of the care they receive. 

The same ideas apply elsewhere. High college tuition is not solved by more subsidized loans that allow schools to charge more. Grocery prices are not lowered through price controls that discourage production and lead to shortages. Low wages are not fixed by treating every business as an enemy.

Free markets must become more than an economic system we regard as simply “better than socialism.” We must understand, and teach, the why. We must practice what we preach: put our faith in individuals’ freedom to make intelligent choices, stop demonizing industry, embrace competition and technological innovation, and get government out of the way.