literary commentary

Comment on Jonathan Haidt, "The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion" (Pantheon, 2012) – Lawrence Blum

Comment on Jonathan Haidt, "The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion" (Pantheon, 2012) – Lawrence Blum

Jonathan Haidt wants people of different political ideologies to talk, respectfully and constructively, across that divide. His Righteous Mind aims, among other things, to help “liberals” and “conservatives” understand each other, and thus to facilitate productive conversation. Haidt identifies six “moral foundations” he sees as underpinning ideological/political positions. He views liberal morality as grounded in care, fairness, and liberty, all of which he regards as individualistic values. He sees conservative morality, by contrast, while sharing the liberal three, as also embracing the three remaining values/moral foundations—loyalty, authority, and sanctity—that Haidt regards as “binding,” that is, as values concerned with holding a society together and reinforcing ties amongst its members.