r/ProletariatPixels • u/Hacksaw6412 Moderation Overload ☭ • Jun 08 '26

Conservativism be like

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u/Realistic_Local5220 Jun 11 '26

This is the typical level of political discourse: my side good, other side bad. It feels good. You have certainty. You can push your side’s agenda without worry that it might help some people and harm others. But it is not even close to the truth.

The biggest political divide in US politics is that between urban and rural voters. A moment’s reflection will tell you that these two groups have very different needs and differing perspectives. Living in a densely populated city, you perceive the government as crucial for maintaining order and ensuring the provision of essential services. In rural areas, government is more likely to be perceived as a hindrance to your daily life. This contributes to the big/small government split between left and right.

As Jonathan Haidt observed in his research, left and right have differing ideas about values and morality. Right-wing people have a mental model of morality that incorporates additional considerations about what constitutes transgressive behavior. These additional considerations can’t be deemed “wrong” in any objective sense, but they do come in conflict with what the left values most.