Why is it, in our supposedly center-right country, conservatives seeking to dismantle the welfare state need to pretend they’re actually preserving it? I thought the American people were just a bunch of rugged individualists seeking to free themselves from the yoke of government assistance thrust on them by crypto-fascist liberals. Apparently it’s not that simple.

Adam Serwer is a writing fellow at The American Prospect and a graduate of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. He also blogs at Jack and Jill Politics and has written for The Village Voice, The Washington Post, The Root, and the Daily News. Follow @adamserwer