Reminds me of this quote from an essay by Roderic Day - “When we proudly assert that we are for the individual over the collective, we’re essentially saying that some people count as people, and some don’t. At the heart of liberalism lies dehumanization; we should not forget that slave ownership was one of the original “individual rights” that was so fiercely fought for by American revolutionaries.” https://redsails.org/masses-elites-and-rebels/
I think that’s close to the root of this thinking. They’ve never been allowed to grow up. The fascist capitalist society treats everyone not in charge as children. It’s pervasive. Government is a parent, employers are a parent, and the working class are children.
So through this lens it makes sense that they can’t fathom how it might be different for their child.
Fully agree. Also I feel like this is a byproduct of extreme individualism/other conditions created by capitalism.