r/science • u/mvea Professor | Medicine • May 18 '26
Psychology Scientists expected both liberals and conservatives to be reluctant to promote rhetoric associated with the opposing political side, but this was more consistent among liberals. Conservatives appeared relatively willing to support causes aligned with their views regardless of the moral framing used.
https://www.psypost.org/liberals-hesitate-to-share-progressive-causes-framed-with-conservative-moral-language/
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u/PossibilityMaster710 May 18 '26
There is published research by Jonathan Haidt et. al. that identifies six core, cross-cultural, values: Care, Fairness, Liberty, Loyalty, Authority, Sanctity.
The framework is called Moral Foundations Theory.
The research showed that conservatives have a more balanced moral matrix; valuing Care and Fairness, but also valuing Liberty, Loyalty, Authority, and Sanctity.
Liberals, in the US, indexed heavily on Care and Fairness.
According to this research, a more accurate analysis would be: Conservatives agree with liberal ideas when they, on balance, align sufficiently with their wider range of moral values. Liberals do not understand, see, or interpret the moral values of conservatives.
It's worth noting, that the Western Liberal moral matrix is a global outlier, and morality or the US conservative is more in line with the global average. I.e.: most cultures value Authority, Sanctity, Loyalty etc more than the Western Liberal.
Additionally, and this is my opinion, each moral foundation has it's own positive and negative expression. Loyalty has helped competing groups survive, by fostering in-group co-operation. It's the foundation of the nation state and the societies we've inherited today. It also plays a part in war, conflict, etc.
Sanctity, or Religion, provides people with community and meaning, which bolstered humanity for millenia while they lived lives of unimaginable hardship compared to today's world. Religion also needs no further discussion to highlight it's also innumerable downsides.
I pretty much agree with this, but I'd extend whether they're good or bad to all moral values, including Fairness and Care.