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> Out of six, the strongest effects emerged for goals that involved government-imposed social distancing rules. Conservatives oppose the government telling the
by JamesBarney 7y ago
> Out of six, the strongest effects emerged for goals that involved government-imposed social distancing rules. Conservatives oppose the government telling them when they can or cannot leave their homes; liberals support such policies. Because a threatening disease might validate government interventions that conservatives dislike, conservatives appear motivated to downplay the severity. Or conversely, because a threatening disease might validate government interventions that liberals do like, liberals seem motivated to magnify the threat.
Ugh I hate when people do this, it seems like lazy thinking. Decreased government intervention is a terminal goal for many individuals, but increased government intervention is not. Liberals are more willing to trade government intervention for lives saved.
> We found that the general effect of ideology on perceived COVID-19 threat significantly decreased at higher levels of experience with COVID-19. Conservatives view the disease as less threatening than liberals, but this difference shrinks among participants who have been more impacted by the disease.
Looks like the divide is not entirely different values, and that it's at least partially driven my misinformation.
* I know there are probably some liberals for who this is a terminal goal but it's a vanishingly small amount.
- Tostino 7y agoThat sounds more likely to me, and completely agreed on the point that increased government for the sake of it has never been a point of conversation for me I can think of with someone who identifies as liberal where they were arguing that more government is the end goal, but there may be specific things they think the government should handle (healthcare). On the reverse, in my experience talking to more conservative people, I have had that topic of "smaller government" come up multiple times. So my anecdotal experiences align with your points pretty well.
- floor2 7y ago> increased government intervention is not Seems like a weird, pedantic half-truth. It's like "I'm not a racist, but ..." except for government. "I don't want increased government intervention... except for the areas of healthcare, housing, education, guns, the economy, free speech, religion, banking, labor, technology and a few dozen other areas, those I do want increased government intervention in". I get that it doesn't come from "I love authoritarianism and want more of it" but the practical end is the same when the solution to every problem is "More government regulations or interventions"
- edmundsauto 7y agoFor quite a few of the items in your list, the solution from liberals tends to be "Different government regulations" or "Different beneficiaries of government regulations". Which is quite different from more government.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- davidwitt415 7y agoIt can be seen as a corrective to 'let the free market decide everything,' which is clearly showing its limitations in responding to the COVID-19 crisis.