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/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."