Poverty, domestic violence, racism, war:
All of these intractable blights and many more have root causes, and we would
all love to get at those root causes with a hoe or some Roundup. But
conservatives get in our way! And they do it intentionally! What if we could
thin the ranks of conservatives by discovering and destroying the roots of
conservatism?
Wow! Progressives could really make progress toward the kind, peaceful, and
harmonious world we seek.
Think about it. Who is waging war in the
Middle East right now?
Islamists,
Christianists, and conservative Jews. (I'm afraid to say "Jewist," and
"Judaicist" is the wrong word.) Who in the US is making life difficult for
homosexuals who just want to live their lives like everyone else? Christianists
and other conservatives. Who in the US thinks prisons are the best way to deal
with crime? Christianists and other conservatives. Of course I could go on
indefinitely.
According to
research done at UC Berekeley in 2003 (it was actually a synthesis of
existing research), these psychological traits are linked to political
conservatism:
- Fear and aggression
- Dogmatism and intolerance of ambiguity
- Uncertainty avoidance
- Need for cognitive closure
- Terror management
We know we can't do brain transplants to
solve this problem. We can't wage war against them because war doesn't work and
it kills people. We can't lock them up in prisons for a variety of reasons. Just
like all of our other social ills, we cannot fix conservatism with a sledge
hammer; we need to address root causes.
So what are the root causes of
conservatism? How much of it is
hard-wired in the brain and how much of it is based in education and
experience?
This may appear to be a flashing neon
request for slams and humor, but I am actually interested in thoughtful
ideas on this topic. What are your thoughts? What information can you find on
this topic?