Not So Dumb After All

Bay Area residents whose politics are right-of-center (the center being quite to the left of the rest of the country) have learned to stay in the closet. They smile when jokes are made about conservative politicians, Mormons, and Southern Baptists. Their car bumpers are a politics-free zone for the sake of vehicular preservation. They refrain from questioning the dogma of anthropogenic global warming climate change, and quietly endure the chortling over scientific studies that "prove" that liberals are more intelligent that conservatives.

It was therefore startling to read yesterday's column by Nicholas Kristof of the NY Times:

Conservatives may not like liberals, but they seem to understand them. In contrast, many liberals find conservative voters not just wrong but also bewildering. [snip]

Moderates and conservatives were adept at guessing how liberals would answer questions. Liberals, especially those who described themselves as “very liberal,” were least able to put themselves in the minds of their adversaries and guess how conservatives would answer.

Now a fascinating new book comes along that, to a liberal like myself, helps demystify the right — and illuminates the kind of messaging that might connect with voters of all stripes. “The Righteous Mind,” by Jonathan Haidt, a University of Virginia psychology professor, argues that, for liberals, morality is largely a matter of three values: caring for the weak, fairness and liberty. Conservatives share those concerns (although they think of fairness and liberty differently) and add three others: loyalty, respect for authority and sanctity.

Nicholas Kristof analogizes the ability to grasp other world views to an ability to speak other languages [bold added]:

Another way of putting it is this: Americans speak about values in six languages, from care to sanctity. Conservatives speak all six, but liberals are fluent in only three. And some (me included) mostly use just one, care for victims.

One sign of empathy is the ability to put oneself in another's shoes. It would be asking too much for Mr. Kristof to take the final step and admit that conservatives as a group evidence an admirable personal quality in a greater quantity than liberals (like charitable giving) but at least he makes a start.

[Update - related: there's now evidence that real bilingualism increases intelligence.

The bilingual experience improves the brain’s so-called executive function — a command system that directs the attention processes that we use for planning, solving problems and performing various other mentally demanding tasks.]