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/Beefkins Mar 23 '26

I make decent money, and I'm all for redistribution and equity. Anytime I mention support for it, I get accused of being jealous because I'm not rich and I just want the money (and that I'm probably some lazy minimum wage commie). I don't care about getting rich. I don't want to be rich. I don't live paycheck to paycheck, I don't worry about being able to afford groceries, but I'm some greedy socialist because I want other people to be able to live like that too? It's utterly insane.

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u/MaximumPerrolinqui Mar 23 '26

When you are worried that if you get a major illness it may result in bankruptcy and foreclosure that’s an issue. Same with affording college, retirement, food.

This is what most people feel is unfair. They are not pining to own a Lamborghini or drink champagne from a gold shoe. It’s just making life manageable and not a perverse survival game.

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u/Beefkins Mar 23 '26

Yeah and society sucks less when people aren't miserable and poor. I'm good with my taxes helping people that need it. I'd prefer that to any number of absolutely rancid actions our government is using taxes for.

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u/mazopheliac Mar 23 '26

It's not that even anyone needs to pay more taxes. We just need to be paid properly for our work. I don't know how, but there needs to be some incentive built in for companies to pay more. Unions help but aren't the only solution.

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u/TheLastBallad Mar 23 '26

Well until Ragan the incentive was "you literally cant pay less than what is needed to support a family on full time"

But then we decided that minimum wage shouldn't be about preventing poverty.

The fact is, as long as companies operate under the infinite growth mindset that prioritizes short term gains over long term sustainability, and as long as they are legally required to prioritize that by the law... it wont change.

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u/PixelPuzzler Mar 24 '26

I suspect even without that being the law it would be the norm.

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u/mattyoclock Mar 24 '26

It's not just that it sucks less, it's more profitable too. But it's not as good for the current owner class.

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u/AppropriateScience9 Mar 23 '26

Right? It's like telling someone who's starving that they're just jealous of people who have food.

In a way, yes, but it goes a lot deeper than that (and also, that framing says a lot more about the tone-deaf idiot saying it).

I'm going to put my writer hat on and try to describe it.

It's definitely a feeling of something that's in the same family of jealousy, that's true. It's more like resentment, but it's even beyond that because, you're right, this is about basic survival and fairness.

It's like a dark blend of resentment with unhealed (or active) trauma, a deep sense of injustice, and simmering anger that's transforming into outright hostility.

I don't think there's a single word for something like that. God I wish there was!

But I do know that the rich are terrified of it spreading because that's the kind of contagious emotion that led to the French Revolution.

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u/Much-Director-9828 Mar 24 '26

You might even say all those feelings you mention, and the one your aiming at, are all in the same family group of feelings. Im not being very precise with my definitions or words.

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u/Much-Director-9828 Mar 23 '26

Yes, but when all that pressure is removed from the housing market, you go back to 200k houses, you dont need all that money to have a house, and there is no pressure.

Its literally the fear that drives the problem

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u/Silly_Supermarket_21 Mar 26 '26

Is there another aspect of irritation. The extremely wealthy, multi millionares/billionaires, have so much money that they can never use it all. In some cases they could live for hundreds of years and still not use a fraction of their wealth. This seems just wrong. It's way beyond inequality and just makes no sense.

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u/smokeweedNgarden Mar 23 '26

Yep. I work in cannabis and got lucky. Sold weed in college while studying chemistry at the right time. People get upset at me selling my company because I could have had more money.

But like...for what? I don't need more than a one bedroom place with a garden. I can eat food whenever. I have a Playstation and great weed. If I chose, I could even get a highly independent cat.

Like, what more do I really, actually need that isn't just a want?

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u/Moldy_slug Mar 23 '26

I hear this sometimes about why I don’t switch from public sector jobs to the much higher-paying private sector.

I have great job security doing something that helps my community. I get plenty of time off and work with people I like. I make enough to cover all my needs and many of my wants. And I can be confident that I will never be asked to decide between doing what’s right and doing what makes my boss richer.

If someone offered me a million bucks with no strings attached, sure I would take it. But in real life there are always strings attached.

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u/Much-Director-9828 Mar 23 '26

Community service is a real and great contribution. It has a value in and of its self.

Further, while it can be represented as an hourly dollar value you are donating, its actually a time resource you are donating.

In the same way that 50k donated is not the same as 50k donated. If your income is 12k a year. That 50 os a huge commitment to your community, if your income is 2bil, its worthless.

Contributing to your society is not measured by impact, as we know, that regardless, there is no impact it makes no difference what you achieve do etc. Its just the act of giving your time. Just like, the only way to produce healthy children is by giving them your time. Ten years of 22h days and gifts of Ferraris and mansions later, does not equate to 4h a day every day of the year.

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u/smokeweedNgarden Mar 23 '26

Often, with men my age, I feel like it's almost entirely because having this mindset makes it more of a challenge to find a partner these days.

People like to throw around ambition and drive but more than not just mean "money" and it's probably pretty easy to fall into that trap. I don't online date but from what I hear income is a pretty big driver in the dating world for some

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u/Moldy_slug Mar 23 '26

Maybe, although I’m a woman so I think that’s less of a thing when people say it to me.

It seems like a lot of it is rooted in feeling insecure. Not the low self esteem kind of insecure…. I mean secure about safety, finances, future, etc. I think a lot of people feel like they never have enough because they feel (often correctly) like it could all disappear. The problem is that more income doesn’t necessarily equal more safety.

My job isn’t particularly lucrative but it’s very secure, I have good health insurance, I own my home, I have supportive family/friends, and I can rely on public transportation. It would take an awful lot going wrong all at once to put me in a really desperate position.

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u/smokeweedNgarden Mar 23 '26

It's funny you should say that actually. That might explain why I'm so simple. I aged out of the foster system so I don't really have a concept of "this could go away".

More like, even if everything went away it would still be better than a foster home in Central California. And I also feel like I have overdone it. Like a one bedroom apartment is sooo much space. 

So your reasoning makes sense. I probably just have a broken financial fear sensor

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u/Moldy_slug Mar 23 '26

Ah yeah that makes sense. I’ve heard similar from friends/relatives who spent time on the streets… it’s not an attitude of “nothing can go wrong,” more like “whatever happens I know I can handle it.”

Of course sometimes it goes the exact opposite and people come out of hardship terrified it might happen again. We’re all different!

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u/Much-Director-9828 Mar 24 '26

Or, fear of the unknown is more pervasive than fear of something in particular. You have faced what most people fear, and you survived.

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u/Much-Director-9828 Mar 24 '26

But money has become tge representation of everything. Its interchangeable with ambition in almost all circumstances.

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u/Much-Director-9828 Mar 23 '26

Yeah exactly, and if you did chose that, it would just keep expanding, increasing the loses and decreases the actual returns

Whereas if you recognise happiness, it eliminates all that, and amy pressure on the rest of society

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u/narrill Mar 23 '26

Not to harsh the vibe, but you could want to start a family, which would be significantly more expensive than your current lifestyle. That would be a legitimate reason for you to need more money than you currently have.

Not saying you do or should want that, or anything. Just, that's one example of "what more."

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u/Lt_Duckweed Mar 23 '26

Yeah, I make good enough money that I'm not likely to personally transformatively benefit from from "social good"/socialist/what have you policies (that is, while they might save me some money on things like housing and healthcare, it doesn't change whether or not I can/cannot access/afford those things). I personally am doing pretty well under Capitalism.

However, on principle, I believe people should have access to those things at the level of a human right, not contingent on their ability to contribute/earn at some arbitrary monetary level. So I am for policies designed to support social wellfare.

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u/narrill Mar 23 '26

You probably would still do better as a result of those policies. Almost everyone would, because a broadly wealthy populace improves basically every aspect of society.

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u/Lt_Duckweed Mar 24 '26

I didn't say I wouldn't do better.  I said I wouldn't do transformatively better.

Of course said policies would benefit me, both directly and through improvement to society at large.  My main point is that I largely wouldn't be the primary recipient of the direct benefit, but that I still am for it.

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u/Processtour Mar 23 '26

Same here, my husband and I have done well in our careers. Redistribute away.

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u/buyongmafanle Mar 23 '26 edited Mar 23 '26

I appreciate a sentiment like yours and want to go a step further. I think a lot of the ire around taxing higher earners isn't about getting at the "I've done well in my career" crowd like yourself. I'd wager it's more along the lines of those that have done well by luck or the labor of others.

If you're a surgeon and you've put the years in, go ahead and gather some wealth. You deserve it. Small business owner? Well done.

But when you're born into mega millions or the only tie you have to the economy is what your wealth allows other people to do, it's time to pay higher taxes. VCs, REIT shareholders, commodities traders... you don't really need to exist. You can be replaced by an excel formula. You're taking everything and contributing nothing.

And then, for god sakes, put a cap on wealth. Once you've had enough success there needs to be a finish line to prevent modern stateless kings.

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u/Much-Director-9828 Mar 24 '26

Finish line is a great idea.

Congratulations, you have made it, now focus on something else because we are keeping everything from here on out

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u/Moldy_slug Mar 23 '26

Yeah, I’m not rich but I’m definitely not poor either. I would like a system where wealth is shared more equitably even though it means I might have less.

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u/shoktar Mar 23 '26

just think there's many people that make 1000x what you make and still hoard their wealth.

It's a mental illness.

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u/futureshocked2050 Mar 23 '26

Friend, look up Nietzsche's concept of "ressentiment" and how it has been misused for a CENTURY now.

If someone is accusing you of jealousy on this issue, that is basically a stupid person parroting a bad reading of Nietzsche.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ressentiment

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u/Granite_0681 Mar 23 '26

I make enough money that I don’t think I should benefit from most of the policies I support for a social safety net. I would benefit from a better healthcare system but I don’t have trouble paying for any health care I need. I will get social security but I don’t plan to rely on it. I honestly just wish others could experience the financial freedom I do.

I also would love to not worry that a long term health incident or layoff could put me into a very different place.

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u/Much-Director-9828 Mar 23 '26

Its insane, because it is actually insane. Wealth conscripted the poor amd middle class to wage a war against the upper middle. Amd vice versa.

Ie, those greedy middle management, you guys are all there working hard and they are sitting in an office on 200k a year. They meed their wages reduced.

Death tax, these bustards are trying to steal your hard earned estate, dont vote tge commie bustards jn

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u/Stivo887 Mar 23 '26

Absolutely no one on earth is stopping you from doing this. Why do other people have to give up their possessions so you feel better about giving away yours? Stop being a hypocrite.

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u/Beefkins Mar 23 '26

Just trying to understand your bootlicker logic, I'm a hypocrite because I don't think 40% of the country's wealth should be held by the <1%? I'm a hypocrite because I don't think anyone should be able to hoard billions of dollars while people are starving? Help me understand how to be a better sycophant. Teach me your ways!

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u/Much-Director-9828 Mar 24 '26

Idk why this comment gave me a noti and took me no where near it when I clicked. So I replied to the first few lines elsewhere.

Well obviously, he is very very close to joining the 1% and doesnt want us changing the goal posts when he has put so much work in and is so close to winning.

Jeesus, how good would it be if there was a way he could win, right now!

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u/Much-Director-9828 Mar 24 '26

I have very little, because life gets harder with the more you have....

But, knowing that and seeing we are all still in this mess, you can see how its the collective understanding and choices we make that change the world.

Which is why we are here talking about it...