A recent article by Tom Jacobs of Miller-McCune reviews the work of Jonathan Haidt, a moral philosopher and psychologist at the University of Virginia. He has a very interesting take on what distinguishes liberal and conservatives. He suggests that there are five fundamental moral impulses:
Harm/care: It is wrong to hurt people; it is good to relieve suffering.
Fairness/reciprocity: Justice and fairness are good; people have certain rights that need to be upheld in social interactions.
In-group loyalty: People should be true to their group and be wary of threats from the outside. Allegiance, loyalty, and patriotism are virtues; betrayal is bad.
Authority/respect: People should respect social hierarchy; social order is necessary for human life.
Purity/sanctity: The body and certain aspects of life are sacred. Cleanliness and health, as well as their derivatives of chastity and piety, are all good. Pollution, contamination, and the associated character traits of lust and greed are all bad.
Put briefly, liberals focus on the first two and conservatives on the last three. I recommend the review.
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