International Poll Says World Not Going In Right Direction
A majority of people in the world do not feel the world is going in the right direction, a view strongly linked to the view held by a majority that the United States is not having a positive influence in the world.
A majority views globalization positively, but majorities — especially in rich countries — say that the rich are not playing fair in trade negotiations with poor countries. In most countries the UN is well trusted.
These are some of the findings from a new poll of 18,797 people from 19 countries around the world conducted by the international polling firm Globescan (formerly Environics International) and analyzed in conjunction with the Program on International Policy Attitudes of the University of Maryland.
The polls were conducted November 2003 through February 2004 in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, France, Germany, Great Britain, India, Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, Nigeria, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Turkey, Uruguay, and the United States.
Asked about the general direction of the world, 60 percent of overall respondents said that the world is not going in the right direction, with the largest majorities being in Europe. Americans lean to a negative view, but moderately so, with 45 percent saying the world is going in the right direction and 50 percent disagreeing.
The only countries that showed a majority saying the world is going in the right direction were China (77 percent) and India (51 percent).
Overall, only 37 percent said that the US is having a positive influence in the world, while 55 percent disagreed. Twelve of the 19 countries had predominantly negative views of America’s influence. These negative views of the influence of the US are closely linked to negative views of the direction of the world.
A clear majority of world public opinion (56 percent) does not think that rich countries are playing fair in trade negotiations with poor countries. Interestingly, this is most widely felt in rich countries.
Overall, though, a majority (55 percent) has a positive view of globalization.
