Conservatives, Liberals, & Demonization

In The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion, Jonathan Haidt discusses how conservatives and liberals in the U.S. have become polarized – to the detriment of the common good. He says his social psychological research shows both groups sacralize different values (conservatives personal responsibility and liberals compassion for others) and so are at odds over taxation for welfare. And because politics has thus become religion, the groups demonize rather than try to understand and work with each other. Haidt hopes we can eventually adopt norms discouraging demonization just as we came to disapprove of sexual harassment.