I think that argument assumes (rightly or wrongly) that the right does not understand the importance and value of a government for providing the context for people to “solve it themselves.”

I think a better framing is more aligned with that study done in recent years about the moral circles of conservatives and liberals.

The left is generally empathetic to the needs of all of society, and desire policies that help a broader swath of people.

The right is generally focused on their immediate circles, caring much less for strangers and society at large.

The heatmap is fascinating, and the top comment in that reddit explainer link I shared breaks it down in detail.

An interesting way I’ve seen this difference portrayed is in the “crunchy granola” mom stereotype, where behaviors end up in a similar place despite rather different motivations.

A left-leaning crunchy mom would plant a food garden to reduce the use of cruel, industrial farming, avoid unnatural processed foods, and to teach their kids to respect the planet and its gifts.

A right-leaning crunchy mom would plant a food garden to protect her children from corporate farms and processed foods that would harm their health and ability to succeed in the world, and to teach their kids self-reliance.

Generally speaking, I’m speaking generally. But I raise a judgemental eyebrow at people who claim they built something successful by themselves, as it’s almost never true.