I had another dream, I had another life
This is part of the General Conference Odyssey. The late political/social scientist James Q. Wilson made a name for himself studying crime (most famously his “broken windows theory“),[ref]For more on this theory, see the City Journal articles by Heather MacDonald,Charles Sahm, and George Kelling.[/ref] which eventually led him to study mankind’s innate moral sense as … Read more
This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. The talk that struck me the most this week was Elder A. Theodore Tuttle’s The Things that Matter Most. He began his talk with an excerpt from a Deseret News article about how racing greyhounds, which are trained to chase a fake rabbit around the track, … Read more
Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt and the Cato Institute’s Emily Ekins have an incredible article on the moral psychology of different candidate supporters. The two begin with the 6 major moral foundations: Care/harm: We feel compassion for those who are vulnerable or suffering. Fairness/cheating: We constantly monitor whether people are getting what they deserve, whether things … Read more
The American Enterprise Institute and the Brookings Institution have come together to produce a report on reducing poverty. Recognizing the increase in child poverty with in the U.S., the group recommends multiple policies to combat it, including: Promote marriage as the most reliable route to family stability and resources. Promote delayed, responsible childbearing. Promote parenting … Read more
Victimhood culture is turning social justice activism into a movement in pursuit of power instead of justice.
The above graph comes from the World Values Survey Database. As you can see, the vertical line moves from traditional values (religion, ritual, hierarchy, authority) to secular values, while the horizontal line moves from survival values (economic and physical security) to those of self-expression. Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt provides this helpful explanation: The best way … Read more
Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt has an engrossing outline of a fairly new study on what are known as microaggressions. The study examines our transition into a moral culture of victimhood. The 18th and 19th centuries saw a shift from cultures of honor to cultures of dignity. Honor-based cultures tend to lack strong legal authority and institutions, … Read more
David Brooks suggests social conservatives lay down arms in the culture wars. That may be impossible as well as futile.