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> Intentional moderates are similar to those on the far left and the far right in that their opinions are, in a sense, not their own. The defining quality of an
by SamReidHughes 7y ago
> Intentional moderates are similar to those on the far left and the far right in that their opinions are, in a sense, not their own. The defining quality of an ideologue, whether on the left or the right, is to acquire one's opinions in bulk.
Well, no, not at all. People on the left and on the right tend to have a worldview and attitude that is the foundation of their stances on issues. It is not a coincidence that support for welfare spending, tolerance of theft, illegal immigration, fat acceptance, and decrying of objective standards in education all come from the same side.
- emiliobumachar 7y agoWhy do the policy packages vary so much from country to country?
- SamReidHughes 7y agoThey don't. Edit: Not in the sense that they're scrambled up. Party lines can be drawn differently, specific policies can be different. In the same sense, policies differ at different times in history, too. Edit II: I note your question presumes there are universal far right and far left attractors -- that's not anything I meant to imply.
- philwelch 7y agoIdeologies are more multipolar than that.
- SamReidHughes 7y agoOh I'm well aware :-)
- smolder 7y agoIt'd be a stretch to say political opinions are for the most part a result of internal reasoning and self-formed world view, rather than indoctrination by a social group that suffers hard from confirmation bias. People are, overall, NOT good at thinking critically, and tend to accept the paradigm to which they have to most exposure. They tend not to reach outside of their bubble for clues about what could be wrong with their paradigm. It's more work.
- SamReidHughes 7y agoIt's not reasoning, it's basic values. People are made differently. That's why there are political differences between men and women, weightlifters and runners, straight men and gays, and dynamic typing and static typing fans. And you can trace the common reasoning in the baskets of political views. This isn't like some difference between communists and people who would be communists if it weren't for Econ 101. It's differences in regard to questions like whether you're willing to accept that some people will have a worse lot in life. And is moderation in the pursuit of justice a virtue or not? The moderates are the people whose opinions are most formed from indoctrination.
- smolder 7y agoBasic values come from the world around you, from your parents, from everyone around you that you interact with as you grow up. You aren't born a runner. Kids are formed into people. Most often they turn into people with similar basic values and in turn, political opinions. There are a lot of ways values can be applied. It's only for for the most part that people don't deviate in their application because they aren't thinking that hard, just imitating others and being a conduit for preformed ideas.
- SamReidHughes 7y agoBasic values are also heritable and founded in biology, as shown in twin studies and observations that other species have a sense of fairness.
- smolder 7y agoI'd say we're both right to the extent that nature and nurture both play a role.