My buddy Gil sent me this article by the psychologist Jonathan Haidt, seeking to answer the age-old question of why working-class voters apparently defy their economic interests by going Republican. Haidt's article is good, if imperfect, and the scholarly responses to it are likewise uneven but still not to be missed.
I thought some of Haidt's analysis was trite, and any psycho-social explanation of a complex behavior like voting is bound to be reductionist on some level. But I think he has a central insight that's worth keeping:
Morality is not just about how we treat each other (as most liberals think); it is also about binding groups together, supporting essential institutions, and living in a sanctified and noble way. When Republicans say that Democrats "just don't get it," this is the "it" to which they refer.
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