American - Psychologist | October 19, 1963 -
The most powerful force ever known on this planet is human cooperation - a force for construction and destruction.
Jonathan Haidt
ConstructionPowerfulCooperation
Morality binds people into groups. It gives us tribalism, it gives us genocide, war, and politics. But it also gives us heroism, altruism, and sainthood.
PoliticsWarPeopleMoralityHeroism
By temperament and disposition and emotions, I'm a liberal; but in my beliefs about what's best for the country, I'm a centrist.
BestCountryEmotionsBeliefsAbout
Liberals are my friends, my colleagues, my social world.
WorldColleaguesFriendsSocial
Our moral sense really evolved to bind groups together into teams that can cooperate in order to compete with other teams.
TogetherMoralOrderCompeteSense
I think Republicans need to take income inequality more seriously. Not because I favor equality of outcomes. I do not. I think the Right is correct to stress merit and earned rewards, not handouts and forced equality. But I think what Republicans are blind to is that power corrupts.
PowerStressEqualityThinkBlind
Democrats talk about programs like Social Security or Medicare, but it's not clear to most voters what Democrats' core moral values are.
ValuesSecurityMoralTalkDemocrats
In accounts of men in battle, there is an incredible adrenaline rush from group-versus-group conflict. The fervor and passion of partisans is clearly rewarding; and if it's rewarding, it involves dopamine; and if it involves dopamine, then it is potentially addictive.
PassionMenConflictBattleClearly
Liberals tend to be much more concerned about business and corporations as the oppressors. They look to government as the solution. On the Right it's the opposite. They see business as good, as what generates wealth in society, and they see government as the oppressor, which makes it hard for especially small businesspeople.
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Trying to run Congress without human relationships is like trying to run a car without motor oil. Should we be surprised when the whole thing freezes up?
CarTryingRunRelationshipsOilUp
The most important thing to realize is we're not blank slates at birth. We don't start off with nothing in our heads, and then get imprinted entirely by our environment. There's something in our heads on the day we're born, and then we grow up and make choices.
DayStartChoicesGrowEnvironment
Liberals have difficulty understanding the Tea Party because they think it is a bunch of selfish racists. But I think the Tea Party is driven in large part by concerns about fairness.
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