Understanding the right wing
The right wing in politics is in the ascendant all over the world. In India, it is represented by the BJP and Modi, in the US by the Republican Party and Trump and in the UK by the Tories and Brexit. Erdogan in Turkey is another example.
The right wing is comprised of otherwise normal people. Many of them are intelligent and have done well in their professions. They tend to be less educated, more religious and older than the left wing but that's a statistical measure. There are representatives from all ages and all levels of education.
There is an excellent book by Jonathan Haidt called "The Righteous Mind" which attempts to analyse how the right wingers think and is well worth a read. It is obviously futile to dismiss right wing politics as 'short-sighted', 'self-serving' and 'cruel'. That strategy does not work and the fact is that they are in the ascendant. It is important to understand how they think so that a viable way forward can be found.
One thing Haidt points out is that they have their own sense of fairness. It takes the form of saying 'if you don't work for it, you don't deserve it.' They tend to be against providing free services, social safety nets etc. Even if someone is starving to death or dying because they cannot access healthcare, the narrative is that 'they brought it upon themselves. Why don't they work? Why should we spend our heard-earned money on them.' They also tend to look at opportunity in a superficial way. 'They have as good a chance of getting a job. All they have to do is work hard in school.' The underlying fact might be that 'they', which tends to be anyone who does not belong to their own community (Hindus in India, Whites in the US and UK), never had the opportunity to acquire a good education or live in a safe neighborhood or have a secure family life or pay for a good school.
Another characteristic of the 'Righteous Mind' is a strong sense of community. The community might be religious, caste-based, race-based or nationality-based. They are loyal to their community. The loyalty is unconditional. They will remain loyal even if their community is in the process of committing genocide (Germans under Hitler and Hindus in Gujarat being examples). The world is divided into 'us' and 'them' with 'them' being anyone of a different race, religion, caste or nationality. Rewards are seen as a 'zero-sum' game. If 'they' gain then 'we' lose. The world is divided into friends and enemies and 'if you're not my friend then you're my enemy'. Individuals lose their identity. All Muslims are guilty of acts committed by some, for instance.
A third characteristic is a lack of empathy. Empathy is the ability to put yourself in someone else's position and to understand their problems and to feel distress at their distress. The right wing looks at 'others' as objects more than as human beings and often feel delight rather than distress at the distress of those identified as 'others'.
A fourth characteristic is an aversion to regulation. This concept of 'freedom' is best exemplified in the American attitude to firearms. Any attempt to regulate the sale and ownership of firearms is taken as an affront to freedom and the rights of the individual. This also takes the form of a demand for 'less government'. They are in favor of free-market systems and against any kind of regulation. The narrative is 'reduce taxes, reduce welfare programs.' The poor are responsible for being poor and do not deserve assistance.
How does one find common ground? Haidt does not really answer that well. Of course, personal attacks are counter-productive. Ideally the effort should be to find policies both can agree upon but these are few and far between. Modi's 'development' was something both sides could agree upon and was an astute choice of a plank which would win elections. So was the 'no-corruption' concept which, again both sides would support. Unfortunately, the next few years have shown that you should see what a person or an organization is and what they do rather than listen to what they say.
The next two years are going to decide whether the pendulum swing to the right is done or just getting started. The effects are going to last much longer than the people who rise to the top.
The right wing is comprised of otherwise normal people. Many of them are intelligent and have done well in their professions. They tend to be less educated, more religious and older than the left wing but that's a statistical measure. There are representatives from all ages and all levels of education.
There is an excellent book by Jonathan Haidt called "The Righteous Mind" which attempts to analyse how the right wingers think and is well worth a read. It is obviously futile to dismiss right wing politics as 'short-sighted', 'self-serving' and 'cruel'. That strategy does not work and the fact is that they are in the ascendant. It is important to understand how they think so that a viable way forward can be found.
One thing Haidt points out is that they have their own sense of fairness. It takes the form of saying 'if you don't work for it, you don't deserve it.' They tend to be against providing free services, social safety nets etc. Even if someone is starving to death or dying because they cannot access healthcare, the narrative is that 'they brought it upon themselves. Why don't they work? Why should we spend our heard-earned money on them.' They also tend to look at opportunity in a superficial way. 'They have as good a chance of getting a job. All they have to do is work hard in school.' The underlying fact might be that 'they', which tends to be anyone who does not belong to their own community (Hindus in India, Whites in the US and UK), never had the opportunity to acquire a good education or live in a safe neighborhood or have a secure family life or pay for a good school.
Another characteristic of the 'Righteous Mind' is a strong sense of community. The community might be religious, caste-based, race-based or nationality-based. They are loyal to their community. The loyalty is unconditional. They will remain loyal even if their community is in the process of committing genocide (Germans under Hitler and Hindus in Gujarat being examples). The world is divided into 'us' and 'them' with 'them' being anyone of a different race, religion, caste or nationality. Rewards are seen as a 'zero-sum' game. If 'they' gain then 'we' lose. The world is divided into friends and enemies and 'if you're not my friend then you're my enemy'. Individuals lose their identity. All Muslims are guilty of acts committed by some, for instance.
A third characteristic is a lack of empathy. Empathy is the ability to put yourself in someone else's position and to understand their problems and to feel distress at their distress. The right wing looks at 'others' as objects more than as human beings and often feel delight rather than distress at the distress of those identified as 'others'.
A fourth characteristic is an aversion to regulation. This concept of 'freedom' is best exemplified in the American attitude to firearms. Any attempt to regulate the sale and ownership of firearms is taken as an affront to freedom and the rights of the individual. This also takes the form of a demand for 'less government'. They are in favor of free-market systems and against any kind of regulation. The narrative is 'reduce taxes, reduce welfare programs.' The poor are responsible for being poor and do not deserve assistance.
How does one find common ground? Haidt does not really answer that well. Of course, personal attacks are counter-productive. Ideally the effort should be to find policies both can agree upon but these are few and far between. Modi's 'development' was something both sides could agree upon and was an astute choice of a plank which would win elections. So was the 'no-corruption' concept which, again both sides would support. Unfortunately, the next few years have shown that you should see what a person or an organization is and what they do rather than listen to what they say.
The next two years are going to decide whether the pendulum swing to the right is done or just getting started. The effects are going to last much longer than the people who rise to the top.
Very well written Sir. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteWell written sir! Would love to hear more from you.
ReplyDelete