Political psychologists have long theorized that authoritarianism structures the positions people take on cultural issues and their party ties. Authoritarianism is durable; it resists the influence of other political judgments; and it is very impactful-in a word, it is strong. By contrast, researchers characterize the attitudes most people hold on most issues as unstable and ineffectual-in a word, weak. But what is true of most issues is not true of the issues that have driven America's long running culture war-abortion and gay rights. This Element demonstrates that moral issue attitudes are stronger than authoritarianism. With data from multiple sources over the period 1992-2020, it shows that (1) moral issue attitudes endure longer than authoritarianism; (2) moral issues predict change in authoritarianism; (3) authoritarianism does not systematically predict change in moral issues; and (4) moral issues have always played a much greater role structuring party ties than authoritarianism.

Visceral feelings about abortion/gay rights are stronger in the public mind, structuring American political conflict deeply.

Book Information
ISBN 9781009529310
Author Paul Goren
Format Hardback
Page Count 76
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press