Related post: Liberalism is fascism; conservatism is liberalism (December 2020)

The principal divide between the current right and left in the US is the acceptance vs. rejection of an internal locus of control. The left rejects an internal locus of control, and projects it externally.

Under an internal locus of control, I have real, meaningful power in the now to act on things that affect me. I'm not a victim of other people, even if they were mean to me. I'm not a victim of systems, even if they're unfair. I'm not a victim of my past decisions, even if they were stupid. I can use power in the now to change the present and build a future I desire.

Under an external locus of control, I have no such power. I am a victim of other people and external events. I am a victim of people who were mean to me, I'm a victim of systems that are unfair, I'm a victim of my past decisions, which in fact were not truly my decisions, since they were influenced by unfair systems and mean people. Since I abdicate my power in the present moment, the only way I can improve anything is by blaming others and trying to control them.

This second point of view is mentally unfit. It's not simply a competing view, it is dysfunctional. The elites encourage and cultivate this victim mindset because those who accept victimhood can be persuaded to support elites which promise to bring relief from the only place that's perceived possible, that is by changing the external environment.

The elites then use this power to consolidate control and to enrich themselves. As they do so, they may bluntly tell you they can't fix your problems, and you will just need to do more to fix them for yourself.