Morals of Politics Essay

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Psychology

Political gridlock in the United States is nothing new, but it can be helpful to review the current state of affairs under a new theoretical rubric: that of moral foundations theory. Moral foundations theory focuses on the moral underpinnings of political values, political philosophies, and political behaviors (ie. voting, and/or lawmaking). The gulf between liberals and conservatives in the United States may be insurmountable, but it would be helpful to gain understanding of the underpinnings of the core arguments in order to create a more effective and responsive system of government. As Graham, Haidt & Nosek (2009) point out, liberals and conservatives clash because they do not share the same vision for America. Yet diversity is inevitable, and even desirable in America. Therefore, to resolve political and cultural gridlock and promote shared values and ideals, it is imperative to discover and capitalize on the points of convergence in divergent moral foundations.

The moral foundations of liberals and conservatives find their common grounds in the two dyads of harm/care and fairness/reciprocity (Graham, Haidt & Nosek, 2009). As Graham, Haidt & Nosek (2009) point out, conservatives tend to clutter their moral foundations with competing dyads such as ingroup/loyalty, authority/respect, and purity/sanctity. The result is an hypocritical political platform that remains untenable under logical scrutiny, but which holds a powerful emotional sway over conservatives. Rozin et al. (1999) found that emotions are indeed a better predictor of moral judgment than reasoning.

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One possible solution to the problem of political gridlock is a more concerted effort to eliminate emotions from debates, and revert to reason. An understanding of the conservative worldview can, however, illuminate some of the inconsistencies in their political platforms. For one, conservatives cry out against "big government," because of their "positional ideology" that challenges the authority of institutions (Graham, Haidt & Nosek, 2009). At the same time, conservatives will demand greater government intervention in specifically moral issues such as marriage equality or teaching religion in schools.

There are two interrelated paradoxes at play with the conservative inconsistencies. One is the predilection toward authority and hierarchical systems, with a simultaneous and contradictory aversion for governmental institutions. Another is the aversion for government regulation of big business, coupled with a simultaneous and contradictory demand for more government regulation of the private lives of Americans, eg. gay marriage.

Graham, Haidt & Nosek (2009) would note that the reason for these contradictions lies in the conservative view of human nature. Conservatives are pessimistic, and believe that people do not have the potential to make sound moral judgments themselves. Therefore, they would need government to guide their moral actions. Government's role, to the conservative, is somewhat like a moral guardian. For the liberal as well, government should safeguard institutions and ensure for the common welfare. This is why liberals believe that the role of….....

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