The Democrats' Preoccupation with Inequality
Why leftists are blinded by materialist ideology.
October 21, 2015
Dennis Prager
If you want to understand today's Democratic Party, a word search of the Democrats' debate last week provides a pretty clear picture.
Here is how many times key words were spoken:
Wall Street: 23
Tax: 20
Inequality: 9
Wealthy: 7
Now, compare the number of times other national concerns were mentioned:
ISIS: 4
Terror/ists/ism: 2
Defense: 2
Military (excluding Jim Webb): 1
Freedom: 1
Debt (national): 0
Liberty: 0
Strength: 0
Armed forces: 0
Islamist/Islamic : 0
Material inequality is the predominant concern of the Democratic Party. Indeed, material inequality has been the predominant concern of the left since Karl Marx.
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The left, with its materialist view of life, refuses to concede these nonmaterial producers of poverty and that changing behavior is therefore the only way to raise the majority of the poor out of their poverty. Of course, when bad luck — such as chronic illness or being the victim of a violent crime — is the reason for one's impoverished condition, societal help is a moral imperative.
Instead, the left believes that the focus of attention must be on reducing the wealth of the wealthy — again, as if the wealth is a pie. Thus, the left demands a redistribution of wealth in society — taking money (that was honestly earned) from those who are wealthier and giving that money to the poor. But all that does most of the time is prolong the poverty of the poor, as they are not only not forced to engage in productive behavior, they are actually paid to continue whatever unproductive behaviors they are engaged in.
All this should be obvious to anyone with common sense. But incorrect ideology always distorts common sense.
So, why is the left preoccupied with inequality in a society in which most poor people have the opportunity to lift themselves out of poverty?
Because of its class-based materialist ideology.
Because seeing some people own luxury vehicles, multiple homes and even private jets while others live in small apartments feels wrong to the left — and leftism is based on feelings.
Because it prefers that the state, not the individual citizen, has as much wealth as possible.
And because when you don't fight real evils (Communism during the Colds War, and now Islamism, Russian expansion, Syria's use of chemical weapons), you fight nonevils. And material inequality is nonevil.
The Democrats' Preoccupation with Inequality
