originally published 9/29/2021
Do you ever think to yourself, “Why doesn’t everyone think like me?” Or, at least, “Why can’t we all get along?” Why are we fractured into opposing, antagonistic parties? It seems like we have forgotten what our parents and teachers told us–we were supposed to share, get along and respect others.
There are multiple reasons why we split into groups. Some are reasonable, and some are just human nature.
Practical issues Different groups have fundamentally different needs and preferences. We expect differences between such groups as
The “haves” and the “have nots,”
Business owners and labor,
Rural and urban dwellers, and
The religious and secular,
to name a few. These groups have tended to sort themselves socially and geographically, clustering into Conservative and Liberal parties.
Psychology It is human nature for us to divide ourselves into groups, to adopt the values and tenants of our groups, and to reject and disparage things associated with outside groups. Our groups essentially become our tribes that we identify with. Conservatives tend to value their groups and are more loyal to them than are Liberals.
Personality types We have different personality types, with beliefs and values clustered into conservative and liberal personalities. These traits include
A preference for tradition vs things new and different,
Reverence for authority and obedience vs irreverence and independence,
Conformity vs individualism
Preference for a strong, decisive leader vs one who leads by consensus, and
“Justice” that emphasizes punishment for the guilty vs protection of the innocent (or underprivileged).
The Conservatives among us feel a greater need for certainty and security. Even what we prefer in explanations and answers—simple and straightforward vs complex and nuanced—is determined by our conservative or liberal personality type.
Conservatives and liberals tend to have different minds. Beyond mere preference and circumstance, we actually think and feel differently. Studies show that Conservatives tend to think in simple, straightforward terms, and more commonly adhere to dogma. They favor order and structure, and despair at abstractions and issues that lack a concrete solution. For Conservatives, things are black or white, good or evil. They are more inclined to react with alarm or revulsion to things that are threatening or gross.
Liberals revel in adventure and novelty, and they love to ponder. They have a propensity for turning simple concepts into complex and ponderous dilemmas. They consider every issue to be nuanced, in shades of gray. This can limit their effectiveness when circumstances demand moral judgments or quick decisive action.
Ironically, Conservatives want us to conform to social norms, but they tend to believe that the individual is more important than the greater mass of humanity. Liberals prefer a society where anything goes, but they also believe that the needs of humanity outweigh those of the individual.
Conservatives believe in a just universe where hard work and decency are ultimately rewarded with prosperity. Thus, the wealthy are wealthy because they deserve to be, and being poor is a sign of laziness and self-indulgence. Liberals champion the underprivileged, and blame poverty on hard luck and the miserliness of the rich. (Mooney, 2012)
Political power
In order to have influence over the politic system, people have to band together. We may not want to, but we assume that “the other side” is going to band together, and we believe that we have to do the same in order to counterbalance them.
Many of us fear being completely overrun by the other side. This further compels us to join one group and oppose the other. (Waldroff, 2021)
External factors
We can thank our news media for much of our polarization. Decades ago, there were just a few channels on TV, and each competed for the broadest viewer market they could get. They may have had their biases, but they did not want to risk alienating one group of viewers by pandering to another. Economics forced them to be politically centrist.
Since that time, the Internet and cable news networks have allowed the development of news sources that are highly specific for one particular point of view. (Weir, 2019) Rather than broadening their appeal, these sites concentrate on their niches. Far from being centrist for the whole country, they are at best centrist for their party. They tend to fall into either Conservative or Liberal categories, and commonly try to distinguish themselves from similar sites by being even more radical and partisan. They are most interested in appealing to and influencing like-minded people. They try to indoctrinate viewers to their messages and agendas. They are more likely to vilify members of the other side. The more inflammatory, the more popular.
External threats and fear also drive us into parties. It is human nature for us to become more conservative when we are fearful. (Mooney, 2012) Many groups hype threats in order to pull people in.
Why are we limited to just 2 dominant parties?
The presidency has been held by either the Democratic and Republican parties since 1852. The closest 3rd party candidate was Theodore Roosevelt in 1912, who ran as a Republican up until that time. In fact, US politics has been dominated by 2 parties almost to our beginning as a nation. The reason has everything to do with our “winner-take-all” elections. There is little or no reward if our candidate does not win, so we generally won’t vote for a candidate who has no chance. (Blake 2016)
With just 2 parties, the effects of tribalism and social identity are amplified. We spiral into a vicious cycle of isolation from and vilification of the other party.
Republican/Democratic is not the same and Conservative/Liberal
“Republican” does not necessarily mean conservative, and “Democratic” does not necessarily mean liberal. The terms are not synonymous. When we think beyond party affiliations, we can better appreciate individual differences and concentrate on political issues. (We will expand on this in its own section.)
The Republican Party has tended to be more patriarchal, nationalistic, pro-business, and pro-military (Mooney, 2012), and claimed to be more fiscally responsible. (Aronoff, 2020) As such, The GOP appeals to Conservatives.
The Democratic Party favors labor and the underprivileged over business and the elites. They promote government intervention for society’s ills, and the redistribution of wealth to reduce poverty. (https://democrats.org/where-we-stand/party-platform/building-a-stronger-fairer-economy/ accessed 5/6/21). Thus, liberals tend to vote for Democrats.
However, there are other reasons to join one or the other party. Single issues such as gun control, defense, taxation, or abortion may cause some people to vote for 1 party when their personalities would otherwise cause them to vote for the other. Or, they may be swayed by the party’s advertising, or the general impression they have, rather than by that party’s policies. They may even vote according to how their friends and family vote.
Social circumstances may also compel someone to join a party, against their liberal or conservative natures.
So, we should be careful to think of “conservative” and “liberal” as terms that describe our personalities and values, and not necessarily our political party choice.
Diversity among Liberals
It should be noted that there is not just one type of Liberal. Progressive Liberals tend to take a much more liberal stance on issues such as immigration, minority rights, and gender identity. They are more in favor of government control of business.
Moderate Liberals are more socially conservative, and more supportive of business, than are Progressives. (Bacon, 2019)
A note on Libertarianism
Libertarianism is a separate political and social philosophy. It is based on the belief that people generally have equal capacity to take care of themselves and manage their own affairs. It asserts that government is unnecessary except to keep people from being assaulted or stolen from. It believes that governments have descended from the marauding tyrants who established control through conquest, and although the governments have become more civilized, the principles have remained the same.
Libertarianism opposes the idea of protecting people from themselves, or protecting the weak from the powerful. Libertarians believe that the free market is the only moral authority over commerce, and that a sufficiently free market will protect consumers from harm. (Babcock)
Some powerful businessmen, who passionately oppose government, claim that their opposition is based on Libertarian principles. If one takes a closer look at these individuals, one sees a pathological aversion to being told what to do, and a sociopathic insistence that they be free to pollute the environment and abuse anyone they please, in their pursuit of profit and power. (Mayer, 2016)
The Libertarian party has not been particularly successful in the ballot box, usually getting around 1% or less of the votes in federal elections. Some of their extremist social views are unpopular with the American electorate. However, they have had an outsized influence over political philosophy. (Mayer, 2016)
Their individualism, pro-market position and anti-government populism appeal to Conservatives in particular. Aside from that, Libertarians and Conservatives make strange bedfellows. Libertarians want the smallest military that will keep us from being invaded, and are anti-draft. They oppose nationalism, and are not opposed to immigration. What’s more, they state that abortion is an individual decision. Their party platform states: “government should be kept out of the matter, leaving the question to each person for their conscientious consideration.” (lp.org)
Libertarians are also socially laissez faire, which appeals to some Liberals. Libertarians believe in this not because they want everybody to be happy and self-actualized, but because they think it’s none of the government’s business what we do (lp.org), even if our actions do severe and irrevocable harm to ourselves, and despite extenuating circumstances.
I do not consider Libertarianism to be in the middle between Conservatism and Liberalism. Where they are conservative, they are more conservative than the Conservatives. And while they oppose social norms and restrictions on individual behavior, they have an almost callous disregard for the poor and underprivileged. They are worth noting because of the influence wielded by self-serving, anti-government, super wealthy business people, who claim to be libertarian.
Conclusion
Having multiple parties occurs naturally, because different groups of people have different needs and interests. It is human nature for us to band together with like-minded people, in order to further our own interests. Our “winner-take-all” electoral system compels us into an essentially 2 party system, because we don’t want to vote for minor parties if they have no chance of winning.
The problem with having just 2 major parties is that issues get bundled into one or the other party, and partisanship dictates how those issues are addressed. Unless we adopt a system of proportional representation (which is unlikely), we need to improve the problem of partisanship. Those of us in the middle appreciate this need, and are probably the only ones willing and able to fix it.
This site is our attempt to do just that. We can educate ourselves about the merits of each side’s position on the issues. We can look into ourselves to evaluate what are the facts and what are the assumptions behind our political opinions. We may still remain politically conservative or liberal, but with a better understanding of the other side, we can find the common ground, and promote the optimum combination of liberal and conservative policies.
References
Aronoff, Kate. Republicans preach fiscal conservatism, yet they always find money for war. 1/7/2020. Accessed 5/2/21 https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/jan/07/republicans-climate-crisis-wars-spending
Babcock, Grant. What is a libertarian? Accessed 4/28/91 https://www.libertarianism.org/what-is-a-libertarian
Bacon, Perry Jr. The Six Wings of The Democratic Party. Mar. 11, 2019 accessed 7/7/21 https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-six-wings-of-the-democratic-party/
Blake, Aaron. Why are there only two parties in American politics? April 27, 2016. Accessed 3/28/21 https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/04/27/why-are-there-only-two-parties-in-american-politics/
democrats.org. Building A Stronger, Fairer Economy. Accessed 5/6/21. https://democrats.org/where-we-stand/party-platform/building-a-stronger-fairer-economy/
lp.org. Libertarian Party Platform Accessed 7/20/21 https://www.lp.org/platform/
Mayer, Jane. 2016. Dark Money: the Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right. (audiobook)
Mooney, Chris. 2012. The Republican Brain. The Science of Why They Deny Science—and Reality. John Wiley & Sons.
Waldroff, Kirk . Healing the political divide. How did we become such a divided nation, and how can psychologists help us bridge the gap? January 1, 2021 accessed 3/29/2021 https://www.apa.org/monitor/2021/01/healing-political-divide