What Conservatives Really Want - by George Lakoff

[kpete]

What Conservatives Really Want
Posted on February 19, 2011


Conservatives believe in individual responsibility alone, not social responsibility. They don’t think government should help its citizens. That is, they don’t think citizens should help each other. The part of government they want to cut is not the military (we have over 800** military bases around the world), not government subsidies to corporations, not the aspect of government that fits their worldview. They want to cut the part that helps people. Why? Because that violates individual responsibility.

But where does that view of individual responsibility alone come from?

The way to understand the conservative moral system is to consider a strict father family. The father is The Decider, the ultimate moral authority in the family. His authority must not be challenged. His job is to protect the family, to support the family (by winning competitions in the marketplace), and to teach his kids right from wrong by disciplining them physically when they do wrong. The use of force is necessary and required. Only then will children develop the internal discipline to become moral beings. And only with such discipline will they be able to prosper. And what of people who are not prosperous? They don’t have discipline, and without discipline they cannot be moral, so they deserve their poverty. The good people are hence the prosperous people. Helping others takes away their discipline, and hence makes them both unable to prosper on their own and function morally.

more:
http://readersupportednews.org/off-site-opinion-section/72-72/5030-what-conservatives-rea

[wakemewhenitsover]

1. Extremely insightful.

ty for posting!

[izquierdista]

2. Except when they don't

When it comes time to pay the piper, individual responsibility is out the window in favor of some more important principle, like "too big to fail" or their excuse du jour for why they should be exempted.

[geckosfeet]

4. They are the job creators.

You want a job, kiss our collective big business executive style behinds.

[Bryn]

3. I've wondered why they're called Conservatives

When they should be called The Ayn Randians.

[Kablooie]

11. One for me and all for me!

[Lil Missy]

5. kick for later

[firehorse]

6. If that's true, then they are coming from an emotional place of being abused

And their logic is flawed and they are still believing in outmoded fantasies from WWII era.

It's like they think all one has to do is get a job, and you can inherit the american dream. But they are in denial that those those jobs either got outsourced 20 years ago or stayed here but the skill set that went with them became obsolete. It's like they don't realize that the jobs people got in the early 80's with a high school diploma you can't even get anymore with a master's degree. They are in denial that highly educated people accrue a life time of debt for that education, gambling with decreasing odds that it will land them a well paying job. But those companies are not always hiring, or if they are, they are from a cheaper laborer pool... like the guy in Moracco who gets paid $1 an hour by facebook to censor images people post.

They are not acknowledging that companies that once paid for health insurance do not anymore. That retirees pensions are gone, that social security is going, that millions lost their 401k's to corporate pirates that stole their life time savings.

These damaged abuse survivors are identifying with the character defects of their patriarch abuser. So they diminish those around them, to avoid looking into themselves. Paradoxically, they can't afford Christian traits such as humbleness or compassion for others, because if they did, they'd have to be responsible and accountable for the damage that their diminishment of others has caused.

[area51]

23. +1

I think you hit a bullseye.

[Live and Learn]

7. Then let them protect themselves too

Why the heck should we spend on a military to protect a way of life we don't believe in?

And cut out the police force. If they really believe in survival of the fittest let them attempt to protect their own lives while trying to increase their fortunes.

I bet they find that those good at increasing fortunes are not necessarily the most fit for survival after all.

[socialindependocrat]

8. Read the link and the comments

This post is right on point!

I printed hard copies to give to friends.

[jwirr]

9. He is always so good at getting to the point with as few words as possible.

[Kablooie]

10. Money = morality. Poverty = immorality

The more money you have, the more value you have as a human being.
The less money you have, the less value.
People in poverty are devoid of human value so they deserve to suffer.

And what about all the poor conservatives?

Hmm....

They are just rich, moral people who haven't come into their riches yet.

.. or incredibly stupid people who are devoid of human value due to their vast ignorance.

[Lifelong Protester]

12. I'm usually hasty in NOT clicking through links

but because it was kpete, I did, and read the article. It is true, Democrats HAVE TO FRAME the debate. We are LOUSY at it, except, as noted in the article, is WI where we take it to the streets. We have to be ALL READY to discuss the issues of the day on OUR terms, and let go forth the idea of Democrats being socially responsible as well as individually responsible beings. I believe you can be both!

[Sherman A1]

14. I must disagree with the premise of the argument

What our current batch of "conservatives" want is to operate under the theory of

I got mine and I am not about to share or be concerned that others don't have theirs.

It is about selfishness, nothing more.

[Icicle]

15. Greed

It's all about greed. And then those who have the resources use those resources to obtain ALL the resources.

Let us consider the words of a Republican, many years ago...

"Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation or any nation so conceived and so dedicated can long endure.......

.......It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us--that from these honored dead we take increased
devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion--that we here highly resolve that these
dead shall not have died in vain, that this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom,
and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth."

[treestar]

16. Good article except the end

Where he starts blaming the Democrats. As if the Republicans don't own the media. And I bet the solution is to hire him and put him in charge?

[Larry Ogg]

28. Democrat, Republican, Socialism, Capitalism, etc., are ideologies.

Whereas Liberal, Conservative, Psychopath, etc., is about brain functions, i.e. filters, levels of conscience and thinking skills that are used to form world-views and solve problems for the benefit of good or evil.

What Lakoff should have said is that, "Conservatives who call themselves "Democrats", are helping the Conservatives who call themselves "Republicans", who are helping psychopaths who call themselves bankers and capitalist.

And that IMHO, is a big part of what is wrong with our government, our bought of electoral process and mass media has allowed conservatives to take over both parties. And the ideologies and carrot issues that they supposedly represent are nothing more than a facade that gives the illusion of having some kind of a choice in how our lives are governed.

[Godot51]

17. Control

I found myself agreeing with the writer's argument but I believe there is another, greater reason behind those who would rule and that is control. What are governments, religions and other power groups but attempts to control the majority, by promises, bribes, lies or force.
It is no surprise that all of these groups are male dominated; the need for men to control women may be the basis of all control. After all, from where does life come? The wombs of men?

[TomClash]

18. Interesting and thanks to kpete for posting

But I really think they make a lot of it up as they go along, like government supporting markets. Where I come from, that's called buying votes, nothing more, nothing less.

[Zoeisright]

19. I think it's much simpler than that.

Repukes are basically mean and greedy. And selfish and ignorant and unable to learn. So they need to hate everyone else and they're angry all the time.

[saras]

21. I think we have a winner.

Note what conservative dogmas don't change, whether they cost them votes or not. Those are conservative dogmas.
Note which ones change with circumstance. Those are lies to get votes.

The ones that say "I get power, you don't" don't seem to change.

[handmade34]

20. as an addendum

http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~altemey/

[AdHocSolver]

22. Lakoff's reasoning misses the point.

The people labeled conservative today does not describe the kind of people who run the economy, run our banks and corporations, and constitute a large part of the Republican Party.

There is an easier way to describe why they act the way they do.

They don't want you to find out their big secret which is that most of them are incompetent, stupid, and inferior. Without their money and power, they couldn't buy or coerce others to do their bidding. They know this and they don't want the world to know, because the world would not be subservient and obsequious toward them.

They make the possession of large amounts of money the sole measure of worth, and need to reduce the amount of money that others have in order to raise their own image, and ensure that those around them remain properly obsequious. That way they ensure that their worst fears, being questioned and contradicted, will not occur.

The followers of these right wing people will defend them on the most outlandish statements and actions because the followers do not want to admit to themselves that what they are defending is self-defeating or a lot of nonsense or hypocritical or just plain wrong.

The image that they have of themselves is very fragile and these are very fearful people.

[RBInMaine]

24. What they really want is MONEY and POWER just like the Mafia. Simple as that. And, Lakeoff doesn't

talk about their rank-and-file's hypocrisy. They may say they want rugged individualism, yet they also love THEIR Social Security, and THEIR Medicare, and THEIR public roads and water systems and schools, and THEIR use of public parks, and on and on and on. Part of what we always need to do with the GOP is SMASH THEM HARD on their UNENDING HYPOCRISY, just like the DNC is doing now with Mittens and how much he LOVED all that public money he got for the Olympics then goes on and on how using public money to help the auto industry was so bad.

[nxylas]

25. Anyone got a source for the assertion that 80% of TV talking heads are conservatives?

It's not that I don't believe it, it's just that I'd like to be able to quote it the next time some teabagger starts banging on about the "liberal media", and I know that I will be challenged if I do.

[Doctor_J]

26. It is actually 90% or more

check Media Matters or FAIR for mountains of evidence.

[Maineman]

27. Conservatism and today's Republicans are not exactly the same

I agree that conservatism is based on a moral position as described by Lakoff - as well as fear and an inability to trust others. Because they have such a strong connection to religion, conservatives believe others are naturally bad. Also, they have accepted the idea that God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Remember, they threw a hissy fit when someone said the earth revolves around the sun rather than vice versa. They are terrified that their religious beliefs will be eroded and found to be little more than antiquated superstition.

Mix conservatism with politics and you get a mixture of meanness and craziness. Politics is obviously about power. If those seeking power are greedy and conservative, you get today's Republicans.

So why do Republican politicians say and do crazy things that 70 or 80 percent of the population disagree with? Because they are convinced that clever political ads backed by lots of money can sway public opinion in any direction they desire. Corporations can sell almost anything. If it is free - voting is not very expensive, no problem. Corporate media and skilled ad makers will send citizen sheep off the cliff in support of the vicious, self-centered, power hungry politicians and greedy corporate CEOs working together.