Working class pro-capitalism = playing the lottery?

[Skyhilist]

So, despite how fucked up things are getting, most working class people in the US are generally pro-capitalist (i.e. they don't wish the demise of all employers and the seizure of the means of production by the working class).

I know of course, that reasons behind this are very complex. However, I think that in modern society, one component that might help explain this is that working class support for capitalism operates under similar psychological mechanisms to those that lead people to play the lottery.

When people play the lottery, the odds are against them, and generally speaking, people are aware of that (though they may pull of some type of mental gymnastics to convince themselves otherwise). However, the fact that someone is bound to win the lottery entices millions each year to buy lottery tickets.

Under socialism, all the resources a member of the working class needs would be freely available to them. This is preferable to the conditions that the working class currently lives under with capitalism, where it's often a struggle for people to make ends meet. However, under socialism, nobody has any chance of becoming a billionaire. Under capitalism, the odds (like with the lottery) are strongly against the average person for becoming a billionaire. However, the fact that some people always seem bound to be billionaires works like lottery tickets do in keeping people buying them. The fact that there are still more billionaires occasionally emerging entices people into thinking "maybe that could be me one day", which perpetuates support for capitalism.

This mechanism works even though it's illogical because people feel like if they have some chance of winning it's worth it. The average amount of free spending money someone who plays the lottery has will always be less than those who don't. But those who do win the lottery create a very rare anomaly within this rule, just like people who do "win" at becoming rich when they were once poor represent anomalies in a sea of working class citizens struggling to make ends meet. Even though the average payout for workers (in terms of access to important resources like housing and food) under socialism exceeds that of capitalism, the occasional rags-to-riches story keeps working class people enticed towards capitalism because they fool themselves into thinking they might be billionaires someday themselves (or at least much richer).

To quote John Steinbeck, "Socialism never took root in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires."

In short, rich people are represent the winning lottery tickets within capitalism, and pro-capitalist workers represent the suckers who play the lottery anyways, even though the odds are against them.

[The Idler]

I understand the analogy but lottery tickets are bought out of despair and the rise in gambling during economic recessions proves this, if you don't think you can persuade people socialism is in their best interests, then don't bother.

[the debater]

I understand the analogy but lottery tickets are bought out of despair and the rise in gambling during economic recessions proves this, if you don't think you can persuade people socialism is in their best interests, then don't bother.

The OP brought up an interesting point. Obviously not all parts of America are the same, as people in states like Vermont and California are far more likely to have leftist views economically and socially than conservative working class whites in Alabama for example. My guess is that for many poor whites from conservative red states, they still associate socialism with the evil communists and with godless atheists. Plus, being heavily religious, issues like gay marriage and abortion are far more important to them than more urgent economic issues. For me, it definitely makes no sense for working class whites, especially in areas that were hit hard by Hurricane Katrina, to sympathize with guys like Tony Hayward. Nevertheless, I seem to recall that FDR had strong support from the southern states during his elections. Check out the Wikipedia article for the 1932 U.S. presidential election, and you'll see what I mean.

[MarxSchmarx]

There are two flaws to your analogy.

First, participation rates in lottery tickets are high, but no where near as a high support for capitalism.

Second, and relatedly. Most people who buy lottery tickets are aware that no amount of effort expended will win them the jackpot. There are some that spend all their money on lottery tickets, but they are a tiny fraction of ticket buyers.

The belief in the "American dream" by contrast is very different. Sure luck has something to do with it, but by and large people who believe they could move into the upper class are convinced that a combination of effort and inspiration would get them there. I suppose you could find a handful of lottery ticket buyers who entertain such ideas, but even people who run lotteries lower the price of individual tickets to the point where they attract customers who are resigned to it being, well, a lottery. To me, the contrast to the edifice that abets capitalism - from schooling to social discourse to the media to what kinship has become - can hardly be stronger.