A the start of the Great Recession, someone I know lost his middle-class job. So did his spouse. Both of them took unemployment benefits for a year before they found new jobs. Now this person is a staunch right-wing Republican who complains about "lazy people" & "socialists."
Of course, being on unemployment benefits for a year didn't turn HIM into a lazy moocher. In fact, it allowed him to burnish up his skills & look for work without having to worry about bills, food, etc. For him, unemployment benefits worked the way they're SUPPOSED to work.
But now that this person is a full-fledged Wingnut who demonizes large swaths of the population & eschews nuance & complexity so he can view capitalism entirely through the lenses of Social Darwinism & moral judgment. Everyone who doesn't think like him is a useless parasite.
Conservatism is simplistic, solipsistic, & devoid of empathy. It convinces people that they & everyone else have no value beyond the productivity measures of neoliberal capitalism. This is cruel. This is immoral. It's why Donald Trump is president. Fin.
