For years conservatives have asked themselves why the intelligencia tends to liberalism and even communism.
Conservatives are accustomed to thinking in rational, practical and economic terms.
Thus, we have forever attempted to impose upon the left some rational, practical or economic motive, or failing that, we have simply shrugged our shoulders and chalked up liberal motivations to emotionalism. Somehow, these explanations have proved unsatisfactory. It is not difficult to dredge up examples of leftist writers and leaders who cite guilt as the primary reason for their conversion to liberalism, most often saying they were ashamed to live in material abundance while others in the world suffered. In fact leftists seem to wallow in self-denigration. They feel that their own status and wealth are unearned, therefore they assume that all wealth is unearned and make it their goal not merely to redistribute wealth but to eliminate it altogether.