The conclusion from these facts is that liberalism is really driven not by ideology but by self-interest. Let us call this the Self-Interest Critique of Liberalism. It has been mentioned only occasionally by conservatives, and then usually only by implication. The Naive Ideology Critique does not explain why liberals have continued to espouse their old, tired big-government "solutions" to social problems long after even liberals themselves recognize these are abysmal failures, but the Self Interest Critique does. Liberals continue to advocate bigger government as the cure for all ills because they benefit financially from it. The Self Interest Critique does not say that sincere belief is not present in the liberal movement - it is, especially among the many followers within the movement, but that the real insiders of the liberal movement, the Core Liberals, are motivated primarily by their financial interest. Yes, ideas have consequences, but so do material interests. The Core Liberals are perhaps not all aware that this is their true motivation. The human capacity for denial, for rationalization, for self-deception is practically infinite. Everyone is always swayed at least unconsciously by personal benefit. The Core Liberals genuinely believe that their policies are good for the country - but they have convinced themselves of this to alleviate the cognitive dissonance between the suspicion that liberalism is in fact bad for the country, and their drive to magnify their self-interest.
This passage sounds as though it could come from the pages of Atlas Shrugged. I agree with it wholeheartedly.
Liberals are not primarily motivated by financial gain. They are primarily motivated by power and the desire to gain and exercise power over others. This critique is good, but it also ignores the spiritual force behind all leftist, collectivist ideologies -- Satan. he desires to have all will, all purpose, sublimated to his own. Communism, Hinduism, and Freudianism are the highest expressions of poliical/economic, religious, and secular philosophies and they all advocate the complete subsumation of the individual.
Make no mistake, it is he who is motivating his minions on the left.