I blame altruism. By subscribing to the philosophy that sacrifice is the good, anything that causes sacrifice is automatically the good no matter how horrible the outcome.
Correct, and moreover, even though everyone likes to claim that their political beliefs are well thought out, a lot of it has more to do with emotional response and "values" than intellect.
People constantly wonder how it's possible for extremely intelligent people to hold insane political views. That's because political views appeal for emotional more than intellectual reasons. Einstein was a socialist bordering on communist in many of his views, but that wasn't due to any intellectual deficit. A different values system happened to appeal to his view of society, i.e. one where "fairness" is more important than liberty.
A high IQ doesn't necessarily mean they know what they're talking about. In fact, they're ignorant. The ones that spend their whole life in the academic world are insulated from practical realities. Their views on economics come from talking to left-wing economics professors. They should talk to small business owners.
I blame altruism. By subscribing to the philosophy that sacrifice is the good, anything that causes sacrifice is automatically the good no matter how horrible the outcome.