I’ve always thought that liberals take liberal positions to make the world think they are better people that they really are...a pissing contest to see who is the most compassionate, understanding, etc.
True to some extent. If you look in nature, every facet of the Liberal ideology is about multiplying as fast as possible, when resources are free, and competition can be avoided. Promiscuity, single parenting, avoiding fights, not sacrificing for group, or pledging allegiance. It’s just like rabbits - produce as many offspring as possible, without regard to quality, and focus on satisfying yourself alone, because it is numbers of offspring which count in that environment, since competitive mortality doesn’t cull the weak.
K-selection involves a culling of the population by competition, so there only fit offpsring survive. Promiscuity gives way to finding the fittest mate, and monopolizing them with monogamy, so your offpring are fitter than everyone else’s. A bunch of single moms gives way to two parents, raising the child together to give it optimal nutrition and education. You only win if your child wins out over others. Competitiveness, protectiveness, and loyalty to group all help you to win so they become important too.
Today, Liberals try to exploit a social strategy of asserting their superiority socially, as a way of avoiding competition. Notice it is always the ones who say they are the most superior who want to shut down capitalism, gun ownership, and any form of competition. It is competition avoidance, through social means.
If you look at the five traits of the r-selected (bunny) pychology in r/K Theory (competition avoidance, promicuity, single parenting, earlier age of sexualization of young, and no loyalty to in-group), you see all of Liberalism explained, and it even tells you what each part does. It is all about exploiting resource gluts to flood the population with your offspring.
Notice also, just as r/K Theory predict a rise in the r-psychology when resources are abundant, as a society succeeds, and grows rich, up rises Liberalism to tear it all back down, from the Roman Empire to today. It is a natural program in humans which plays out when we aren’t challenged by reality.