3 ms·

I think the simplest explanation would be simply that people align with ideology that serves them best, e.g. people who are less fortunate(in terms of health, l

I think the simplest explanation would be simply that people align with ideology that serves them best, e.g. people who are less fortunate(in terms of health, life circumstances, etc) tend to align with left-wing equity and welfare messages, whereas it's no big secret that the right wing generally seeks just to preserve status quo, discrimination and inequality included, and that's much more likely to attract people who are happy with their lot in life. Furthermore, the very act of caring about state- and world- level issues, of believing that climate change, sexism, racism, and other discriminations are rampant and big issues - is stressful. This would additionally explain why women are most affected - because misogyny directly affects them as a group. As someone else pointed, the "self-reported" part is important too. Liberals are much more likely to talk about and admit to mental health struggles, while conservatives are more likely to tough it out and save face - because, somehow, even mental health has become politicised in the US.

9rx 1y ago
> people who are less fortunate(in terms of health, life circumstances, etc) tend to align with left-wing Typically that is the case in large cities, but the opposite is generally true elsewhere. The least fortunate communities in the US are by and large hardcore right-leaning. But perhaps you accidentally stumbled upon the real significant factor? We do, after all, know that rural/small town dwellers are happier than large urban dwellers: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2018/05/17/people-who-live-in-small-towns-and-rural-areas-are-happier-than-everyone-else-researchers-say/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2018/05/17/peopl... Their philosophical leanings may have nothing to do with it; just mere correlation.
- znpy 1y ago
  > Typically that is the case in large cities, but the opposite is generally true elsewhere. The least fortunate communities in the US are by and large hardcore right-leaning. As somebody that moved from a small community to a large city, the point that's missing here is that being "poor" in the big city is much much different from being poor in the small community. Except from complete homeless people, people living in the big city and considering themselves poor are usually way richer (in terms of yearly earnings) than the average small community dwellers. It's largely a matter of perception. That's been my experience.
  - 9rx 1y ago
    > people living in the big city and considering themselves poor are usually way richer There are always outliers, but it is unlikely that there is really anyone more poor than students subsisting on student debt. Those in other financial hardship situations aren't usually granted ability to go so far into the red. Schools in rural areas aren't entirely unheard of, but rare. The vast majority of these people are going to be found in cities. And these people tend to be left-leaning. > It's largely a matter of perception. Quite true. Those students usually don't think of themselves as being poor. There is probably something to be said about city folk in general seeing themselves as being much better off than they actually are (cities are known to offer hope and optimism), and thus align with the "well off" leanings even when they aren't. Whereas the poor in rural areas know that they are poor, so they have no illusions about aligning with the leanings that caters to the poor. > in terms of yearly earnings I've studied the income data pretty closely and the median income is quite often significantly lower in cities. Granted, this may be because of the aforementioned students occupying the population with little-to-no-income, but either way that doesn't really hold in the general case. There are definitely specific rural areas that are exceptionally hard up, but not as a rule. More often, cities are places of extremes – where you find exceptionally rich people, and exceptionally poor people, while in rural areas people fall into being much more equal. Which makes sense. That's what cities are for: To be able to concentrate capital so that a few winners can take all. Something that is generally not possible in rural areas where the capital is necessarily spread out (becoming less true with the rise of information capital, but historically so at least).

9rx 1y ago

> people who are less fortunate(in terms of health, life circumstances, etc) tend to align with left-wing Typically that is the case in large cities, but the opposite is generally true elsewhere. The least fortunate communities in the US are by and large hardcore right-leaning. But perhaps you accidentally stumbled upon the real significant factor? We do, after all, know that rural/small town dwellers are happier than large urban dwellers: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2018/05/17/people-who-live-in-small-towns-and-rural-areas-are-happier-than-everyone-else-researchers-say/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2018/05/17/peopl... Their philosophical leanings may have nothing to do with it; just mere correlation.

znpy 1y ago
> Typically that is the case in large cities, but the opposite is generally true elsewhere. The least fortunate communities in the US are by and large hardcore right-leaning. As somebody that moved from a small community to a large city, the point that's missing here is that being "poor" in the big city is much much different from being poor in the small community. Except from complete homeless people, people living in the big city and considering themselves poor are usually way richer (in terms of yearly earnings) than the average small community dwellers. It's largely a matter of perception. That's been my experience.
- 9rx 1y ago
  > people living in the big city and considering themselves poor are usually way richer There are always outliers, but it is unlikely that there is really anyone more poor than students subsisting on student debt. Those in other financial hardship situations aren't usually granted ability to go so far into the red. Schools in rural areas aren't entirely unheard of, but rare. The vast majority of these people are going to be found in cities. And these people tend to be left-leaning. > It's largely a matter of perception. Quite true. Those students usually don't think of themselves as being poor. There is probably something to be said about city folk in general seeing themselves as being much better off than they actually are (cities are known to offer hope and optimism), and thus align with the "well off" leanings even when they aren't. Whereas the poor in rural areas know that they are poor, so they have no illusions about aligning with the leanings that caters to the poor. > in terms of yearly earnings I've studied the income data pretty closely and the median income is quite often significantly lower in cities. Granted, this may be because of the aforementioned students occupying the population with little-to-no-income, but either way that doesn't really hold in the general case. There are definitely specific rural areas that are exceptionally hard up, but not as a rule. More often, cities are places of extremes – where you find exceptionally rich people, and exceptionally poor people, while in rural areas people fall into being much more equal. Which makes sense. That's what cities are for: To be able to concentrate capital so that a few winners can take all. Something that is generally not possible in rural areas where the capital is necessarily spread out (becoming less true with the rise of information capital, but historically so at least).