Despite having the highest gross domestic product (GDP) per capita of surveyed countries, 77% of Americans say the nation’s political system needs major changes or complete reform, according to a recent Pew Research Center survey.
And while most Americans think major changes to the political system are necessary, many don’t have much faith that these changes can happen.
Around half of Americans (49%) could be referred to as pessimistic reformers – people who say the political system needs major changes but are not confident it can happen, according to the Washington think tank.
The other half of Americans are divided: 27% think the system needs major changes and are confident it can happen (optimistic reformers), while 23% think the system needs no changes or only minor ones (status quo supporters).
In contrast, in six of the 25 countries Pew surveyed in 2025, optimistic reformers account for the largest share of the population: India, Kenya, South Africa, Indonesia, Hungary and Argentina.
Like pessimistic reformers, optimistic reformers say the political system in their country needs major changes or complete reform. But unlike pessimistic reformers, they are confident that the system can be changed effectively.
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People in optimistic reformer nations were generally more optimistic about the next generation’s financial prospects. A median of 42% thought children in their country will be better off. In India and Indonesia, seven-in-ten or more held this view
The U.S. is not the only country where pessimistic reformers make up the largest segment of the population. Eight other nations – Greece, France, Spain, Italy, South Korea, Japan, Turkey and Poland — have a similar case.
When it comes to gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, the U.S. stands out from other nations where pessimistic reformers are common. But in other ways, it is similar to those nations.
The U.S. has by far the highest GDP per capita of the nine nations where pessimistic reformers account for the largest group in the country. By contrast, in the next five highest income nations Pew surveyed, status quo supporters tend to far outnumber pessimistic reformers.
People in pessimistic reformer countries are not just dissatisfied with their political system. They also tend to be less trusting of other people, view the morality of their fellow citizens more negatively and are somewhat more pessimistic about the economy than those in status quo supporter countries. The U.S. is generally aligned with other pessimistic reformer countries on each of these items.
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For example, 55% of Americans say most people can be trusted. That is substantially lower than the percentage in several countries where status quo supporters are most common.
The U.S. also stands out as the only surveyed country where more adults describe the morality and ethics of other people in the country as bad than good.
In countries where status quo supporters are the largest group, most adults say that people in their country are morally good. For example, 92% of Canadians say this.
Pessimistic reformers also tend to be more negative about children’s economic future in their country.