The Political Influences of Financial Wealth

For example, Monica Mortenson, who lives from paycheck to paycheck, has no balance in her bank account at the end of the month, and has no other financial investments, is politically liberal in large part because liberal policies tend to redistribute financial wealth in her direction.

Other Forms of Wealth

Physical wealth includes ownership and control over resources (labor, capital, land, and entrepreneurship) and goods (especially durable consumption goods). Those with less ownership and control of goods and resources, tend to be more liberal.

A consumer like Pollyanna Pumpernickel, for example, is a working mother of two who rents a furnished apartment and spends her weekly paycheck on perishable nondurable goods like food. With very little ownership of physical goods she edges toward the liberal end of the political spectrum.

Cultural wealth includes the body of cultural attributes, including language, religion, history, and other intangible institutions, that make up a nation. Those who do not share in those attributes have less cultural wealth that they seek to preserve, and thus tend to be more politically liberal.

Lilith Quirkenstone, whose parents immigrated from the Republic of Northwest Queoldiolia when she was a child, tends to be politically more liberal because she does not share in the dominant cultural institutions of her adopted country. She is more interested in changing than in preserving existing institutions.

Favored Policies

• Redistribution: Because they have little wealth, liberals favor policies that redistribute wealth. As such they tend to support welfare programs, unemployment compensation systems, and a host of other programs designed to transfer income or wealth usually from upper incomes to lower incomes.


• Employee Concerns: Because many occupy the working class ranks of the third estate, political liberals favor policies that promote working conditions. As such, they are usually supportive of government regulations (such as environmental and occupational safety). They are strong advocates of a minimum wage and generally seek government policies that support labor unions.


• Economic Stability: When it comes to economic stability, liberals usually consider unemployment (which is more harmful to people with less wealth) a bigger problem than inflation (which erodes nonexistent financial wealth). Liberals also support government stabilization policies that are more likely to redistribute wealth. Fiscal policy is a preferred over monetary policy.