Moral Politics

In Moral Politics: How Liberals and Conservative Think, George Lakoff provides the conceptual underpinnings for the ideas he summarizes in Don’t Think of An Elephant. As a result, Moral Politics is far more coherent and convincing. Lakoff presents a cognitive science theory of the metaphors that liberals and conservatives apply when making moral judgments, which in turn determine their political stands.

As Lakoff sees it, conservatives have a Strict Father model of morality that emphasizes obedience to authority, right vs. wrong, rewards & punishments, and moral strength. Liberals follow a Nurturant Parent model focusing on empathy, compassion, social ties, and fair distribution. These family models lead to specific political views because parenting is a common metaphor for government.

These different moral models explain conservative beliefs more cogently than any explanation I’ve heard before. As a nurturant liberal, conservative opposition to basic social programs has always been incomprehensible to me, since the Republicans I’ve met haven’t been particularly cruel or selfish. From my perspective, ensuring that everyone’s physical needs are met is a clear moral imperative. However, Strict Father morality opposes social programs because it values self-discipline, rewards being earned, avoiding coddling, and moral strength arising from self-reliance.

Lakoff applies his models to explain liberal and conservative views on a wide variety of issues. He examines liberal and conservative rhetoric to demonstrate why liberal arguments don’t register with conservatives. Lakoff’s models do an impressive job of explaining events that occurred after Moral Politics was originally published in 1996, such as the Clinton impeachment and W’s Presidency.

I strongly recommend the book to anyone interested in current events. Though I had feared it would be an abstract academic tome, it was actually quite readable. Lakoff gets a little repetitive at times, but that’s not a big deal. Democrats need to internalize these ideas to generate a more effective message, as Republicans already have.