“For the rich to be right-wing and against any state intervention to redistribute is not nice but easy to understand. It is in their self-interest. For the non-rich to be right-wing and against redistribution shows a spirit of self-sacrifice that is totally baffling.”

— Kaushik Basu

This is partly explained by three factors: 1. The (wildly erroneous) belief that their opinion, if enforced, will result in more benefits for them. 2. The ideological biases that reward ignorance and produce caricatures of informed understanding or evaluation. 3. The power of playing the victim role in a bizarre social drama triangle they cannot comprehend.