# Why Do Poor People Vote for the Rich? Cultural Hegemony Explained - Original post: https://www.twitter.com/i/status/2120490022642110908 - Source account: [@PakalREY2012](https://x.com/PakalREY2012) - Source language: Spanish - Target language: English - Duration: 1:48 - Published: 2026-11-13 - Machine translated. Check the original before quoting. - Canonical URL: https://www.translate.mom/transcript/pNa5DV5EK0da/en/why-do-poor-people-vote-for-the-rich-cultural-hegemony-explained - Original-language version: https://www.translate.mom/transcript/pNa5DV5EK0da/es/por-qu%C3%A9-los-pobres-votan-a-los-ricos-gramsci-y-la-hegemon%C3%ADa-cultural.md ## Transcript [0:00](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/pNa5DV5EK0da/en/why-do-poor-people-vote-for-the-rich-cultural-hegemony-explained) Why do poor people vote for the rich? People without land vote for landowners. [0:04](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/pNa5DV5EK0da/en/why-do-poor-people-vote-for-the-rich-cultural-hegemony-explained?t=4) Precarious workers end up idolizing millionaires. [0:07](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/pNa5DV5EK0da/en/why-do-poor-people-vote-for-the-rich-cultural-hegemony-explained?t=7) Is that collective masochism or stupidity? [0:10](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/pNa5DV5EK0da/en/why-do-poor-people-vote-for-the-rich-cultural-hegemony-explained?t=10) I'm Candela Antón, your anthropologist you can trust, and today we're going to answer this very complex question. [0:15](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/pNa5DV5EK0da/en/why-do-poor-people-vote-for-the-rich-cultural-hegemony-explained?t=15) Because we're actually facing one of the great political paradoxes: Why do people vote against their own economic interests? [0:22](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/pNa5DV5EK0da/en/why-do-poor-people-vote-for-the-rich-cultural-hegemony-explained?t=22) Of course, the easy answer is: they're stupid or they've been deceived. [0:26](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/pNa5DV5EK0da/en/why-do-poor-people-vote-for-the-rich-cultural-hegemony-explained?t=26) But Gramsci posed the question in a slightly deeper way, and called it cultural hegemony. [0:31](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/pNa5DV5EK0da/en/why-do-poor-people-vote-for-the-rich-cultural-hegemony-explained?t=31) The most effective power is the kind that convinces you that its view of the world is the only one possible. [0:36](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/pNa5DV5EK0da/en/why-do-poor-people-vote-for-the-rich-cultural-hegemony-explained?t=36) Basically, it's the one that sells you aspiration instead of redistribution, The one that sells you meritocracy instead of equal opportunity And, most brilliantly, the one that makes you believe these ideas are all your own. [0:48](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/pNa5DV5EK0da/en/why-do-poor-people-vote-for-the-rich-cultural-hegemony-explained?t=48) Ong, who conducted her research in Malaysian factories in the’80s, encountered exploited female workers who defended their bosses, without any politics of fear or any coercion. [0:57](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/pNa5DV5EK0da/en/why-do-poor-people-vote-for-the-rich-cultural-hegemony-explained?t=57) They had simply internalized the idea that hierarchy was fair and that the boss’s success meant progress for everyone. [1:03](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/pNa5DV5EK0da/en/why-do-poor-people-vote-for-the-rich-cultural-hegemony-explained?t=63) Bourdieu called this symbolic violence, which is basically domination without using brute force. [1:08](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/pNa5DV5EK0da/en/why-do-poor-people-vote-for-the-rich-cultural-hegemony-explained?t=68) Think about it. How many times have you thought, “If I work hard, really hard, I’m sure I’ll succeed”? [1:13](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/pNa5DV5EK0da/en/why-do-poor-people-vote-for-the-rich-cultural-hegemony-explained?t=73) How many times have you admired a self-made millionaire? [1:16](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/pNa5DV5EK0da/en/why-do-poor-people-vote-for-the-rich-cultural-hegemony-explained?t=76) How many times have you felt that poor people are poor because they’ve done something wrong? [1:19](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/pNa5DV5EK0da/en/why-do-poor-people-vote-for-the-rich-cultural-hegemony-explained?t=79) All these ideas are benefiting someone very specific. [1:22](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/pNa5DV5EK0da/en/why-do-poor-people-vote-for-the-rich-cultural-hegemony-explained?t=82) And I wonder: how many of my political opinions are really mine and how many are actually the legitimation needed to keep the system running? [1:30](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/pNa5DV5EK0da/en/why-do-poor-people-vote-for-the-rich-cultural-hegemony-explained?t=90) That's a good question to ask yourself. Uh, if you're interested in these topics, on my Patreon, Empathy, you'll find a podcast, an anthropological book club, all kinds of reflections and articles, a really great, very active community on Telegram, [1:41](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/pNa5DV5EK0da/en/why-do-poor-people-vote-for-the-rich-cultural-hegemony-explained?t=101) educational videos, and the icing on the cake is that we also fund science. The link's in my bio. [1:46](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/pNa5DV5EK0da/en/why-do-poor-people-vote-for-the-rich-cultural-hegemony-explained?t=106) See ya, fishy!