If people are wealthy it is god's will and is because god loves them best. That line of thought leads to delusions of superior intelligence as in the "born on third base and thinks he hit a triple" characterization of George Bush. The poor are in that condition because that is where god wants them to be. These fundamental,founding concepts of American puritanism, a thread continuing today in the denials of their own stupidity and justifications of social meanness characteristic of the extreme Right. It is one of the core beliefs behind American fascism and works nicely with Randism. The joke is that the stupid poor and middle classes are programed to worship movie star heroes and the business bandits and bizarre conservative politicians who can afford the same postures and suntanned expensive suit trappings. We are most threatened by voters who chose image over substance and select the harsh puritanical judgements and divinely administered social stratification over genuine compassion and wisdom.
See also Paul Krugman to Rachael Maddow
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