Human Nature

[Thumpalumpacus]

How many people tailor their opinions on this or that issue based on whether they think it's right or wrong morally? I think most people check their wallets first and their group identity second. Maybe the other way around in a totalitarian state, but not a big difference when group identity means poverty or  comfort in that context.

Here in a nominally-capitalist state, "it's the economy, stupid" wins elections. What that says about human nature isn't nice.

I think that morality comes first to most people. Morality viewed by lens of ideology however; people support say libertarian policies because they think them just and because they see them as good for themselves. It's not that majority of people are monsters who would take welfare from grannies and kids for shit and giggles (though number of them is insignificant), they simply see this welfare as something morally bad and I suppose in their own view they're thinking that they are helping said grannies and kids by voting on politicians wanting to cut it.

I don't agree, at least not for Americans. The folks here act politically not out of moral concerns but out of "how might this affect me?" Most Americans don't give a shit about whether cutting welfare or school-lunch programs hurts others if it means their tax bill is lower.

At least, that's what they vote for -- and I take them at their word. If they cared about that stuff would they incessantly vote for lower taxes and concomitant cuts in government services? These voters aren't worried about teaching welfare-queens any big lesson, they're more concerned about I-me-mine.