Just 38% of voters nationwide believe our society is generally fair and decent. A Scott Rasmussen national survey found that nearly half (47%) believe our society is unfair and discriminatory.
These numbers reflect a dramatic change from the first time Scott asked that question back in the 1990s. In those days, voters routinely said society was generally fair and decent by roughly a 2-to-1 margin.
The current numbers show a significant partisan divide. Sixty-two percent (62%) of Republicans say our society is fair and decent while 69% of Democrats take the opposite view. By a 45% to 31% margin, Independent voters agree with the Democrats.
Not surprisingly, there is also a big racial divide on this question. White voters are evenly divided while 77% of Black voters say our society is unfair and discriminatory. Forty-nine percent (49%) of Hispanic voters agree.
Other data from the survey found that 76% of voters believe most Americans want to live in a society where white and black Americans are treated equally. Thirteen percent (13%) believe that’s not true and 11% aren’t sure.
Twenty-three percent (23%) of Black voters don’t believe that most Americans want racial equality.
The survey also found that just 49% of all voters believe most Republicans favor racial equality. Thirty-three percent (33%) disagree.
A majority of Black voters (54%) do not believe most members of the GOP want whites and blacks treated equally. Forty-five percent (45%) of Hispanic voters share that view.
Methodology
The online survey of 1,000 Registered Voters was conducted by Scott Rasmussen on June 20, 2020. Field work for the survey was conducted by RMG Research, Inc. Certain quotas were applied to the overall sample and lightly weighted by geography, gender, age, race, education, and political party to reasonably reflect the nation’s population of Registered Voters. Other variables were reviewed to ensure that the final sample is representative of that population.
