Saturday, March 12, 2016

Why Trump?

Moral world-views encapsulated in two very different common forms of family life: 
  • The Nurturant Parent family (progressive) and the Strict Father family (conservative).
  • Responsibility for conservatives means personal responsibility not social responsibility.

First, Trump wins by wining TV insult game.  In strict conservative eyes, that makes him a formidable winning candidate who deserves to be a winning candidate.

Second, Trump represents the top hierarchy in the family.  The hierarchy is: God above Man, Man above Nature, The Disciplined (Strong) above the Undisciplined (Weak), The Rich above the Poor, Employers above Employees, Adults above Children, Western culture above other cultures, Our Country above other countries. The hierarchy extends to: Men above women, Whites above Nonwhites, Christians above nonChristians, Straights above Gays.

Third, Trump represents pragmatic conservatives.  Many small and large business people are pragmatic conservatives. Therefore support Planned Parenthood, social security and medicare, favor high tariffs for imports, eminent domain, 

Fourth, Trump speaks in simple sentences that focus on direct action and one-to-one cause and effect.  Trump’s policy proposals are framed in terms of direct causation.  Empirical research has shown that conservatives tend to reason with direct causation and that progressives have a much easier time reasoning with systemic causation.

Systemic causation has four versions: A chain of direct causes. Interacting direct causes (or chains of direct causes). Feedback loops. And probabilistic causes. Systemic causation thinking is required to explain global warming therefore conservatives are unlikely to understand why we should do anything about climate change.

Fifth, Trump expresses “Political Incorrectness” out loud with everything conservatives feel — with force, aggression, anger, and no shame. Tens of millions of conservatives in America share strict father morality and its moral hierarchy.  They are white men who see themselves as superior to immigrants, nonwhites, women, nonChristians, gays — and people who rely on public assistance.  In other words, they are what liberals would call “bigots.”

The election of President Barack Hussein Obama created outrage among those conservatives, and they refused to see him as a legitimate American (as in the birther movement), much less as a legitimate authority, especially as his liberal views contradicted almost everything else they believe as conservatives.

Sixth, unfortunately, it doesn’t matter if you are promoting Trump or attacking Trump, you are helping Trump.   The more Trump’s views are discussed in the media, the more they are activated and the stronger they get, both in the minds of hardcore conservatives and in the minds of moderate progressives.


The Democratic Party has not been taking seriously many of the reasons for Trump’s support and the range of that support. And the media has not been discussing many of the reasons for Trump’s support. That needs to change.


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