Most Americans believe the 'system is rigged' against them by powerful elites | Opinion
Our research found that 70% of Americans believe that 'the system is rigged' by an elite few at the expense of regular people.
The murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson jolted the nation this month, but perhaps even more jarring were the common responses that the killing elicited.
From #FreeLuigi trending across social media to individuals offering to cover his legal bills, the accused shooter, Luigi Mangione, has been regarded in some corners not as a cold-blooded killer but rather as a hero.
As researchers who examine American culture, we were not surprised by the public reaction. New research from our organization, the FrameWorks Institute ‒ a social science research nonprofit ‒ found that 70% of Americans believe that “the system is rigged” by an elite few at the expense of regular people.
Mangione, in a notebook that police say he was carrying when arrested, made clear that he is firmly in that camp. He wrote that health insurance companies “have simply gotten too powerful, and they continue to abuse our country for immense profit,” while calling out their “corruption and greed” and “power games.”
Any American denied a claim or forced to jump through endless hoops to get medication or treatment covered has probably harbored similar sentiments.
Fortunately, most of us don’t resort to indefensible violence to express that frustration.
But what does it say about American society that many people are sympathetic to Mangione’s alleged motivations, if not his actions? That question demands a national reckoning.
Belief that 'system is rigged' crosses politics, gender, race, income
Based on FrameWorks' surveys of more than 35,000 Americans since August 2020, the “system is rigged” mindset is widespread. It is held by significant majorities across the political spectrum (72% of Republicans, 65% of Democrats); gender (74% of women, 65% of men); income (78% of those earning below $25,000; 61% of those making at least $150,000); and age (81% of those 18-29, 58% of those 60 or older).
It is also prevalent across racial and ethnic groups, including 75% of Black respondents, 72% of Asian respondents, 71% of Latino/Hispanic respondents and 65% of non-Latino white respondents.
In an America where common ground can feel so hard to come by, here it is.
But while there is strong agreement that the system is rigged, this mindset leaves open the question of who is doing the rigging and how.
According to some viewpoints, the “elite few” are corporations, the wealthy, policymakers, academics or celebrities. The “regular people” against whom the system is rigged are alternatively thought to be low-wage workers, the white middle class, native-born Americans or Black people.
Conservatives tell a story about liberal elites rigging the system against working-class people in favor of immigrants, and progressives talk about corporate elites ensconced in c-suites maximizing their profits at the expense of the working class.
Exploring the “system is rigged” mentality is not simply an academic exercise. Rigged systems have real and often severe consequences.
It is why, despite living in the wealthiest nation in the history of the world, millions of Americans experience poverty, lack child care, go hungry, don’t have stable housing and can’t afford health care.
The experience or perception that the deck is stacked against “us” in favor of “them” helps explain the outpouring of support for Mangione and why an act of horrific violence was celebrated by so many.
Public's frustrations can be channeled in productive ways
Given that the “system is rigged” mindset can lead to despair and nihilism, it can be tempting to conclude that nothing good can come from it. Our research, however, shows just the opposite. There is a positive side to this way of thinking ‒ but only if it is channeled in productive ways that move us closer to a just society.
Our research shows that when people learn exactly how the concentration of power occurs in our economic and political systems, they are less likely to believe that the system is rigged to benefit immigrants at the expense of the white working class (xenophobic thinking), or that a "strong leader" is required to eliminate society’s "troublemakers" (authoritarian thinking). These shifts hold true across the political spectrum.
We also found that it's critical to match the size of the solution to the size of the problem. That means either spotlighting smaller-scale solutions for specific problems or talking about transformative solutions that would unrig the system at scale.
More than 60% of our survey participants agreed that our society needs fundamental change. So, we ultimately need to give people a sense of how this can happen. The “system is rigged” mentality can spark the change necessary to bring about a better and fairer America − one in which everyone has a living wage, quality and affordable health care, access to nutritious food and safe housing, paid family and medical leave and child care, safe streets, and clean air and water.
None of us should accept a societal status quo in which people feel that violence is the only recourse. The good news is that if systems are rigged by people, they can also be unrigged by people.
Doing so will take considerable time, effort and resources. But understanding the “system is rigged” mindset ‒ and channeling it in productive and worthwhile directions ‒ is the way to start.
Andrew Volmert is senior vice president for research at the FrameWorks Institute. Nat Kendall-Taylor is chief executive officer at the FrameWorks Institute.