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Curiously, what set of reading would you say that would make a liberal person become a conservative? If you're belief is that it's logical, it must be an argument we can discuss, backup with data - etc.

So to that end, the reason i'm liberal is that i believe there is a balance between social safety nets and capitalist incentives. In my view, we are currently the conservative dream. Very few protections for workers, less and less than years past - with increasing benefits for corporations that see little to no benefits trickled down to the workers. Walmart and Comcast are what i see as the natural result of conservative practice.

I simply want what will result in the least suffering. Yet i see suffering in mass in the very pro-0.01% behavior. Walmart does great in this environment - it's employees, less so. Worse yet if you lose your Walmart job, as the safety nets are being dismantled left and right by conservatives.

So, what reading would you recommend i do to show me that fiscal conservative behavior here and that further more reducing lower/middle class protections is beneficial to them?

I certainly do not claim to know all, or any, answers. All i know is the state of the poor is very unsettling to me in America. What reading would you suggest?



One problem is that you are just repeating straw men ('trickle down') and stating things that are flatly wrong ('Very few protections for workers, less and less than years past'). No, generally the regulations 'protecting' workers have gone up and up and up. The nutty expansion of UC in recent months is one example. As for 'social safety nets', for people who learn to navigate the system, there is basically work-free living available. Between Section 8, SNAP, SSDI, Medicaid, etc, the 'social safety net' is beyond anything imagined a few decades ago.

In addition, your attack on Walmart is lazy and typical. When Walmart moves into a neighborhood the first group to get hit are whatever retailers already exist in the area--because all the best workers immediately line up to work at Walmart instead. Better pay, better benefits, etc. Just a typical case.

So, what should you read? Anything but /r/politics would probably help some.


Sowell's "Controversial Essays" was helpful for me to understand the conservative mindset a little more. He comes from the Chicago School and Milton Friedman.


Appreciate it, will give it a read - thanks!


> Very few protections for workers, less and less than years past

(Assuming you’re talking about the US)

Which worker protections have been rolled back? What do you think workers aren’t protected from now that they were protected against when there were no overtime, minimum wage, or really any safety laws?




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