What Drives the Conservative Mind?

[snake in the grass]

From the Guardian:

A study funded by the US government has concluded that conservatism can be explained psychologically as a set of neuroses rooted in "fear and aggression, dogmatism and the intolerance of ambiguity".
As if that was not enough to get Republican blood boiling, the report's four authors linked Hitler, Mussolini, Ronald Reagan and the rightwing talkshow host, Rush Limbaugh, arguing they all suffered from the same affliction.

All of them "preached a return to an idealised (sic) past and condoned inequality".

Republicans are demanding to know why the psychologists behind the report, Political Conservatism as Motivated Social Cognition, received $1.2m in public funds for their research from the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health.

Article continued: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2003/aug/13/usa.redbox

Here is the original study in HTML format for the hardcore amongst you:

http://74.125.155.132/search?q=cache:mzB4mftyxmcJ:psychoanalystsopposewar.org/resources_files/ConsevatismAsMotivatedSocialCognition.pdf+Political+Conservatism+as+Motivated+Social+Cognition&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us


Some of you may already have read this, but I thought it prudent to offer it again so that DUers who haven't can see what we are up against. They will always be with us.

[armyowalgreens]

1. The conservative mind suffers from "allegory of the cave" syndrome...

They fear the unknown. They surround themselves with ignorance to comfort their weeping souls.

[KG]

2. they have a mind?

[armyowalgreens]

5. I find it rather telling that the older I get, the more liberal and open minded I become...

As a young teen, I was a disciple of neo-conservatism.

The only conclusion I can come to is that I matured intellectually and socially. It seems that conservatives lack that intellectual and social maturity. Therefore they act on their fear of ambiguity and uncertainty. They need structure. They need an alpha and omega. They are attempting to find finite answers to an infinite world.


I'm glad I passed my phase of blissful ignorance. Sadly, it seems that millions never make it past that point.

[liberal N proud]

14. And the cons say there are no old liberals

As far as the conservative mind, I don't think they use it. At the very least they are not observant of events that take place in the world and around them.

They live in a me, mine, now bubble.

[demoleft]

3. in my opinion, it is fear for change and sharing. thanx for links. n/t

[snake in the grass]

9. You're welcome.

I found the study fascinating.

[izzie]

4. I will read it. We have had the "Royalist' around a long time.

I have run into people who tell me over and over that since I was renting a house I should not be able to vote as if my rent is not paying for the same taxes a home owner is paying for. Just where do they think the man who is renting me the home gets his money to pay his tax? Course that was a law once. My own father, who was into conservatism, did not think like that.

[sweetpotato]

6. Condensed version - FEAR

Fear.

In all forms.

Fear of the unknown. Fear of the "other." Fear of death. Fear of inferiority.

Its all in there.

[snake in the grass]

8. Yes.

That sums it up quite adequately. In other forums, I sometimes lock horns with some real devolved individuals. One of them went on and on about how "libruls" were cowards and bedwetters, which I found ironic, as conservadroids are the ones who literally permeate fear. I pointed out how different the campaigns were in 2008; "Hope and Change" vs. "Muslim! Socialist! Terrorist!". He just called me gay. There is a fine line between having sympathy for someone, who is genuinely afflicted with a mentally debilitating condition, and the need to defend one's self from same. I think we are at that point now. If someone breaks into my home, steals my property, and threatens to kill my family I'm not going to start a dialogue in search of a compromise. I see this need for bipartisanship at all costs as an attempt to negotiate with people who seek to achieve exactly those things on another level. I know this sounds absolute, but the conservatives of yore are long gone. They've been replaced with reactionary, feeble-brained sociopaths, who see violence and oppression as legitimate political tools.

I'm not looking to discuss anymore.

[CrispyQ]

19. A very frightening statement:

"...but the conservatives of yore are long gone. They've been replaced with reactionary, feeble-brained sociopaths, who see violence and oppression as legitimate political tools."

Sadly, I agree. My rw mother & I were debating some issue - if you could call it a debate. I had facts with sources. She had Fox news sound bites. My jaw damn near hit the floor the day she said, "Facts won't change the way I feel about it." I couldn't believe this was the woman who raised me. She was a dem when I was a kid. The last 25 years of her life she shifted to the right.

[snake in the grass]

22. That's what I mean...

...when I say I'm done with long discussions. I doesn't change a thing with most of them. I have several relatives who vote GOP, the reasons ranging from the Democrats being bleeding hearts, who "tax and spend" to the Democrats being weak on fighting terrorism. Many of them had conservative leanings on some issues, but after 9/11 they just went overboard. I can't tell you how many times, after making an argument and presenting the facts, I've heard, "yeah, but still... (add issue)". I've given up.

[optimal-tomato]

7. Fear and Pride

As mentioned, fear of many things is evident in any number of ways, but they also rely heavily on pride.

Pride in their country, even when their country has done something shameful.
Pride in their religion (or lack thereof), even when their religion is demonstrably wrongheaded.
Pride in their race, while disregarding their race's shortcomings or history.
Pride in their accomplishments, with a maniacal desire to claim all good things in their lives as personal accomplishments.
And so on.

It's probably nothing more than a complex in-group/out-group dynamic with concentric circles outward from themselves.

[Indy Lurker]

10. Could it be...

[ColbertWatcher]

11. What drives the "conservative" "mind"? Why, The Truthiness Monkeys™ of course!

Obedience, Ignorance and Fear! Official mascots of The Truthiness Encyclopedia

[snake in the grass]

12. I wish I could rec your post.

That just killed me.

[ColbertWatcher]

15. Thank you! : P n/t

[old mark]

13. They believe in mythology - they are more comfortable with illusions

and magical thinking than with reatlty.
They are terribly afraid of life and prefer to embrace rules and guidelines to obey - and force others to obey - than to use initiative and actually THINK for themselves.

They are extremely immature and undeveloped persons.

Now where's my government money?



mark

[snake in the grass]

16. I remember...

...reading a study several years ago on out-patient schizophrenics. A high number of them identify with conservative politicians and values, and it was suggested that the reason behind this was the rigid structure that conservatism offers. Ambiguity appears threatening to these people. I don't wish to imply that all conservatives are schizophrenic, nor do I wish to make fun of them (at least not in connection with an actual illness), but I found the study very interesting.

[old mark]

17. I worked in a mental hospital for years before retiring....

I certainly agree with that study,and I'd add strong reliance on fundamentalist religious beliefs and magical ideas as well.

And I don't mean to insult any schizophrenics, either, by calling them Republicans.


mark

[HughMoran]

18. Trying to oversimplify everything - mostly as an exclusionary tool based on fear n/t

[saltpoint]

20. Xenophobia slows, or kills, culture. There's a startling correspondence

between xenophobia and people who oppose stem cell research, for example.

Agree that xenophobes struggle with ambiguity, and also with multiplicity and variance. I think that's why Republicans sip cocktails in golf lounges.

[blackbooks]

21. Certainty

When he said religion is the opiate of the masses, Marx came close but still managed to miss the real problem. The true opiate, the worst, most seductive drug in the world, is certainty. That's what drives the conservative mind. Well, the unthinking ones, anyway.

One of the big differences I've found between most liberals and most conservatives is that liberals are far less certain. They are far less likely to say "The world is like this, because it is." More importantly, liberals tend to be far more comfortable with that uncertainty. I think conservatives cling to their horrible certainty because the alternative is accepting that the world isn't black and white, isn't easily defined and is in fact a lot more chaotic than they'd like to believe.

Either that, or they're just a bunch of pricks. They certainly come off that way.

Sure, there's a few things liberals are certain of as well, but you'll notice you can't get three of us to agree on what those few things actually are. Conservatives spend far more time agreeing with each other than we do. They reinforce each other's certainty. We usually do the opposite. And boy do I hope we continue to. It means we're less likely to win elections, but more likely to good things when we do.