It’s a book written by Johnathan Haidt, explaining, according to the cover, “Why good people are divided by politics and religion.” Haidt has been writing on moral psychology for years – I started following his articles when he was a young professor, and have found his views insightful.
Haidt is a liberal democrat – life is easier in the academy for dems – but his studies attempt to find the reasons that conservatives and liberals differ. His conclusion leads to identifying different foundations for their moralities. One of his conclusions is that conservatives tend to view society in a similar perspective to Durkheim, liberals in a manner more consistent with John Stuart Mills.
I am, by inclination and training, a sociologist. Durkheim, an early French sociologist, saw society in structural terms – in our jargon, he was a functionalist. I see society more in terms of social conflict – perhaps the difference is that Durkheim’s view looked more at where society works, and the social conflict perspective looks at the spots where it doesn’t work. Our political system seems easier to explain from the social conflict perspective.
Haidt described his view of the John Stuart Mill perspective: “First, imagine society as a social construct invented for our mutual benefit. All individuals are equal, and all should be left as free as possible to move, to develop talents and form relationships as they please. The patron saint of a contractual society is John Stuart Mill, who wrote (in on Liberty) that “the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized society, against his will, is to prevent harm to others.” Mill’s vision appeals to many liberals and libertarians, a Millian society at its best would be a peaceful, open and creative place where diverse individuals respect each others rights and band together voluntarily (as in Obama’s call for “unity”) to help those in need or change laws for the common good.”
I’m a sociologist and tend toward libertarian thought – the sort of training and personality that is inclined to look for a theoretical understanding that explains the differences between the left and the right. And I like it when a psychologist moves into the more understandable realms of social thought. Haidt does so, and describes the different moral psychology basis between conservatives and liberals.
Haidt theorized that the political spectrum – left and right – have five foundations for their moral basis:
The illustration above shows the left relying (as Haidt says) “primarily on the Care and Fairness foundations, whereas the right uses all five.” If this is indeed the case, there really is a strong argument that the folks on the right do understand the left better than the left understands the right.
More data on Haidt’s theories is available at https://tvpclub.blogspot.com/2014/12/from-billlifka-graphics-by-ira.html My article here just touches on the topic – clicking the link will take you to a better explanation of the basics of our political differences. There, the proportions assigned to Progressives, Conservatives and Libertarians are:
Foundation…………….. Progressive Conservative Libertarian
Care/Harm…………….. 45% ………. 16.66% ……. 5%
Liberty/Oppression….. 25% ………. 16.66% ……… 65%
Fairness/Cheating……. 15% ………. 16.66% ……… 15%
Loyalty/Betrayal……… 5% ………. 16.66% ………. 5%
Authority/Subversion… 5% ………..16.66% ………. 5%
Sanctity/Degradation…. 5% ………. 16.66% ………. 5%
Click the link, settle down with a cup of coffee or other beverage, and get familiar with the message Haidt has been sharing for the past 15 years.
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