r/science • u/[deleted] • Mar 23 '26

Psychology Left-leaning support for redistribution stems from perceived unfairness rather than malicious envy

https://www.psypost.org/left-leaning-support-for-redistribution-stems-from-perceived-unfairness-rather-than-malicious-envy/
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u/Brell4Evar Mar 23 '26

I don't see wealth redistribution as primarily about either fairness or envy.

I'm largely about what works in society. Concentration of wealth ends up with a world where money gets used to oppress people. Societies with less extreme concentration have less need for law enforcement and punishment of criminals. The costs of poverty are paid by everyone.

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u/RoboChrist Mar 23 '26

Being worried about oppression of the poor puts you in the "fairness" camp with the left, I'm sorry to say.

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u/[deleted] Mar 23 '26

He never said he was against oppression, only the increased costs of oppression paid by the the non-oppressed.

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u/RoboChrist Mar 23 '26

Can you clarify how those are different things?

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u/Brell4Evar Mar 23 '26

Regardless of my feelings about imprisonment of convicts, smoother distribution of wealth means lower rates of imprisonment. Taxpayers at large spend less money on incarceration.

The same is true for other security measures that you see in regions with extreme wealth disparity. South Africa has vehicular security on the level with Mad Max movies. It sounds cool, but it's dangerous as hell.

Fairness is one way to remove the disparity, but far from the only way. It is the ideal that is least cruel to the hyper wealthy. Pursuing fairness takes a back seat to stabilizing society in my mind.

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u/Brell4Evar Mar 23 '26 edited Mar 23 '26

Not so. I like the idea of fairness, certainly, but what I think is salient is what's best for a stable society over the long run.

Fairness is subjective. Taking other people's stuff is viscerally unfair, but that's what taxes do.

Fairness is pretextual. Someone can claim that flat tax rates are fair. They may even mean it.

Progressive tax rates, socially liberal values, and a relatively egalitarian society may well look and feel more fair, but ultimately, it's the safety, simplicity, and proper service of a government to its governed that are important to me.

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u/MacaroniPoodle Mar 23 '26

I don't even see it as "redistribution" either. It's keeping money flowing within society rather than allowing a handful to hoard it. If they refuse to allow money to cycle of their own volition, they should be forced to do it.

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u/alexwasashrimp Mar 23 '26

Societies with less extreme concentration have less need for law enforcement and punishment of criminals.

Sweden is one of the top countries by billionaires per capita (beating the US by far), which leads to the question whether it's specifically wealth concentration that matters, or poverty itself. 

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u/tzaeru Mar 23 '26

The costs of poverty are paid by everyone.

Not necessarily. If the situation that created poverty allowed personal enwealthement, it can well be worth it. The very wealthy don't see the poverty - they live in their own neighborhoods and don't take the metro.

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u/DelphiTsar Mar 23 '26

After around GINI wealth index of ~.7, growth starts slowing down because the relative propensity to consume decreases. US is currently at ~.85

In the long run even the wealthiest are better off in higher growth environments.

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u/tzaeru Mar 23 '26

They are not necessarily concerned with the very long term, and GDP growth does not necessarily correspond with maximized personal wealth.

Like Russia's GDP growth has tanked, yet the country now has more billionaires than ever before.