sometimes without thinking about the larger narratives. Liberals, Progressives, and Leftists can be as tribal as Conservatives and other right wing people.
I try to approach things from a perspective of what would do the most good for the greatest amount of people. I believe that if people had all of their material needs met, and the space to pursue self enrichment, there would be fewer problems in the world. Certainly there would still be problems, just not as intense. When people are hungry, isolated, and feel trapped in whatever situation they are in, it tends to bring about a desperation that can manifest in violence.
I am a Democrat because it is currently the most viable political vehicle in the United States that enacts policies that I think, have a chance of achieving those ends. We are not perfect by any means, but I think most people within the Democratic spectrum of beliefs, believe that all people have inherent worth and dignity, and should have the opportunity to develop into their best selves. Because the current situation we find ourselves in is that some people are hoarding wealth and resources, the government is the only entity with enough power to redistribute some of those resources so that people simply have "enough".
Conservatives (and when I say Conservatives I am typically talking about those with the power to make decisions for the movement, not the average follower) think that it should be at the discretion of those with money and power to decide who gets charity. They seem to think that people are in bad situations because they put themselves there, even when all research shows that the greatest predictor of future wealth is the level of wealth of your parents and their parents. Intergenerational wealth or poverty should not determine a person's future. That is why you get people like George W Bush and Donald Trump in positions of leadership. We celebrate successes like President Obama, who grew up with a single mom and his grandparents, who was able to persevere and climb to the top without great wealth, but there is a trope (Horatio Alger) that is mythologized to entice people to think, "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" and anyone can make it with hard work.
I do not believe that the goal of people should be, or is to become wealthy. I think most people just want to live and do what motivates them, to be "good at something" and be happy. I think we are sold on the ideas of material wealth because that makes us want to buy things and that makes certain people very rich. We need to move to a different motivation as a society and as a species. We need to do better.
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