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| Thomas B. Edsall |
As usual, Thomas B. Edsall of the NYT has written another fascinating column based upon contemporary social science research (which should always, IMHO, be taken only in carefully measured & monitored doses). But with that caveat in mind, let's start with his conclusion spiced with my comments following
Ditto [the name of a social scientist] puts the matter succinctly: “In 21st century American politics, truth is tribal.”
SNG: No, "truth" isn't tribal; "opinion" & "belief" are tribal. Truth is often elusive, hidden, shifty, and so it can point us towards conclusions that it doesn't support. Thus, we need to keep our BS detectors on high alert ALWAYS.
In other words, the pandemic has become another example of Trump’s mastery over his most loyal subjects, his ability to manipulate them into violating their own instincts. It is this power over a substantial bloc of the electorate that has put him in the White House — and continues to make him so dangerous.
SNG: It's really amazing, isn't it, that loyalty toward the demagogue can trump {sic} even attitudes such as concern for health, family, and purity. Purity is a distinctive "conservative" value, according to the research and conclusions of Jonathan Haidt). So can we then surmise that loyalty--even to a false idol--trumps {sic} concerns for purity?
Because many on the political right see the lockdowns as impinging “on their liberty, the free market’s workings, and their financial well-being,” he continued, “many conservatives want the lockdowns ended as quickly as possible.”
[SNG: Of course, some of our freedom of movement has been impinged upon & our financial well-being compromised, but whom does this adversely affect? All of us!
In addition, Wilcox noted, “some (especially male) conservatives see the lockdowns and mask wearing as expressions of cowardice that they reject as unmanly.”
SNG: Did they not get the memo? A mask provides minimal protection to the wearer, but it helps cut potential transmission from the wearer. It's not about how tough you are (or young), but how much you are willing to respect the well-being of the more vulnerable: the elderly the sick, the doctors and nurses and delivery guys, etc.
They [a team of social scientists] found, for example, that 71.6 percent of white males conservatives who claim to understand global warming very well agreed that “recent temperature increases are not primarily due to human activities.” Among all conservative white men, the percentage in agreement fell to 58.5. Among everyone else, the percentage dropped to 31.5.
SNG: Wow, the more profound the denial of scientific consensus, the greater the confidence in the opinion held. And what's with "conservative white males"? It can't be all of them--I'm a while male, conservative (in temperament) and older, to boot. Why is ethnicity & gender so distinctive here?
If you are a conservative, a key tenet of your ideology is that unregulated markets naturally produce good; they are the most efficient way that humans have ever seen for distributing goods, services, wealth, etc. Any attempts to regulate, intervene upon, steer, etc. an economic market will make it necessarily less efficient. A government driven by some sense of altruism — ‘dogooderism’ by ‘bleeding hearts’ — will only muck up the functioning of an efficient market.SNG: Amazing! That some business-types brought up on the Mt. Pellerin ideology of Friedman (Milton) & Hayek and the Chicago School, etc., I can understand the attachment; the well-to-do are less hurt & less yield to the collective well-being of all. But for so many Trump supporters, who live in areas in steep decline by neo-liberal policies, these attitudes are completely at odds with their well-being. Both Democrats and Republicans contributed to all of this, but while Democrats sipped from the poisoned cup of market ideology, the Republicans chugged it. Maybe Mr. Marx was on to something with "false consciousness"!
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