Dr. Martin Hash Podcast

The two basic ideologies, liberty vs. equality, are in constant conflict. Liberty is making decisions for yourself and reaping the benefits or suffering the consequences of your actions; which requires conscientious behavior because you are the one ultimately responsible for you. Equalists dramatically differ because they don't include responsibility in their calculations; they believe that people should share to the point where no one has anything more than someone else, regardless of effort. There is no meritocracy; you do not benefit from your own hard work & luck, nor are you responsible for your actions that may have beggared you.

The number of people who adopt either ideology are evenly split because it's based on self-interest combined with math. The median wealth is the point where half the people have more wealth than the other half. Libertyists want to retain the rewards of their own work, while Equalists want everyone to benefit from everyone's work, or lack thereof. The defining aspect of Equalists is redistribution of everything that is unequal until it's equal. Since Libertyists are inclined to keep what they've earned, the redistribution normally must be through force, which is why Equalists are necessarily authoritarian. This also explains the divide on guns because authoritarianism requires disarming those who would resist them. Equalists require the presence and capitulation of Libertyists, but the reverse is not true: Libertyists don't need any Equalists to live their lives.