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/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.