Jonathan Haidt is an anti-gun activist who thinks a poodle is his nephew. He is also a distinguished psychologist. Few people will be surprised by that juxtaposition. His orientation is of course Leftist and he accepts some of the convenient myths that Leftist psychologists cling to.
Anybody who has attempted to read German philosophers such as Hegel and Kant will be acutely aware of how long-winded and hard-to-follow many intellectuals are. Haidt is a junior member of that tribe. He is a student of something that is important to conservatives: morality. He has written much on the topic and has recently presented what seems intended as a summary of his findings under the heading: "WHAT MAKES PEOPLE VOTE REPUBLICAN?". It is very long, however, so I thought I might summarize the summary for the convenience of readers here. What he has found is that conservatives are much more complex in their thinking about morality than Leftists are. If he had listened to his fellow Leftists and their constant mantra "There is no such thing as right and wrong" he would have known that already.
He must be credited with getting on board with reality eventually, however: never easy for a Leftist dreamer. So he concludes that people vote for conservative parties because conservative parties give more comprehensive attention to moral issues. Listening to almost any conservative spokesman would have told him that conservatives address moral issues that Leftists ignore or spit upon.
Haidt's own thinking on gun control would seem to be an excellent example of how simplistic and deficient Leftist thinking is on moral issues. Conservatives look at the fact that gun control takes guns out of the hands of law-abiding people but not out of the hands of criminals and see that as a huge problem. Leftists seem to see that as no problem. To conservatives, anybody who ignores that problem seems to have a bit missing in his brain.
Posted by John Ray. For a daily critique of Leftist activities, see DISSECTING LEFTISM. For a daily survey of Australian politics, see AUSTRALIAN POLITICS Also, don't forget your roundup of Obama news and commentary at OBAMA WATCH
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I read the Haidt paper and was bothered by some of the things he said, but then I self-identify as libertarian-conservative.
ReplyDeleteHe says, "conservatism is a partially heritable personality trait that predisposes some people to be cognitively inflexible, fond of hierarchy, and inordinately afraid of uncertainty, change, and death."
Cognitively inflexible? Isn't it the liberal who claims conservatives are greedy, selfish and uncaring if they don't support Government Program A to solve Social Ill B? Isn't it a demonstration of cognitive flexibility that one would not persist in putting a square peg in a round hole even when government programs have been shown to be a failure at solving social problems?
I'm not a psychologist, so perhaps I have a misunderstanding of what being "cognitively inflexible" means, but it does seem to suggest that you keep trying the same solution to a problem over and over even when the evidence suggests you should move on to another solution. And perhaps one becomes cognitively inflexible when one accepts the false dilemma of "it's either government or you're greedy."
He also says, "We can explain how Republicans exploit frames, phrases, and fears to trick Americans into supporting policies." I wish he'd spend some time explaining how Democrats do this as well. Surely he doesn't think the manipulation of language is something only Republicans do!
Global warming, carbon footprint, climate change, a woman's right to choose, vast right-wing conspiracy, 9-11 was an inside job, Karl Rove, semiautomatic assault weapons, Bush hates black people, etc.
As for being afraid of change, it is conservatives who support less regulation on markets and the more volatile changes it brings. It is conservatives who accept that the earth's climate is always changing and humans are always adapting to it. The policies supported by liberals do not seem to suggest that they embrace change and uncertainty. .
When Haidt says that liberals try to appeal to reason with long-winded explorations of policy options it leaves me wondering why so many liberals object to the Iraq war on the basis that Iraq had nothing to with 9/11. It seems overly simplistic to this conservative to suggest the war on terror is nothing more than retaliation for 9/11.
ALL THIS IS BS.
ReplyDeleteLEFTISM IS LEARNED - BY BRAINWASHING.
I WAS AN ARDENT LEFTIST RAISED BY COMMIES.,
NOW I AM A CONSERVATIVE.
MANY OTHER MAKE THE SAME JOURNEY.
I JUST STOPPED LIMITING MYSELF TO LEFTIST READING/VIEWING AND ACCEPTED THE FACTS: LEFTIST POLICIES FAIL EVERYWHERE ALL THE TIME.
THAT'S WHY I KNOW WE CAN DEFEAT LEFTISM.
CONSERVATIVES HAVE PRINCIPLES.
UNIVERSAL ONES.
AND POST MODERN LEFTISTS HAVE NONE.
LEFTISTS JUST WANT PROTECTED OUTCOMES HOWEVER THEY CAN GET THEM.
THAT AIN'T REALITY BABY.
NEVER CAN BE - EVEN IN A TOTALITARIAN STATE.