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Why I'm on the political left (in a few sentences)

Culture is a product of your material existence. If that is one of poverty, particularly on a generational scale, it would certainly influence your culture. Even if you live in the developed world and share cultural similarities with those who are relatively rich, a lack of real word resources creeps into your more abstract understanding of who you are. Despite what both liberal and conservative theorists tell us, the way to fix poverty doesn't simply lie in changing people's behaviors, and therefore their culture. It is much more simple, and complex, than that. The solution to poverty is a massive redistribution of wealth, from those who "own" the commanding heights of the economy to those who do the tasks that make our society function. You would be surprised how social pathologies fade away when you no longer have to explain to your kids why your existence is lacking key resources.

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