Most liberals are elitists (that I've known anyway) and they believe they are intellectually superior to the rest of America. They believe they would be part of the ruling class if the US became a socialist nation. And I'm not referring to the hand out class of democrats.
Coincidentally, your comment echoes a conversation I had last month with an acquaintance, who lived that life, albeit peripherally.
Stunningly, she had sincerely believed that Southerners just didn't know better, and it was Washington's duty to take of them -I guess, as you would a pet