Responses to the COVID-19 pandemic reflect the dual evolutionary foundations of political ideology

A popular view, supported by several studies, is that liberals are more concerned than conservatives about COVID-19. This is puzzling given the strong pandemic responses from some conservative nations, and the well-established link between conservatism and threat-sensitivity. We argue a resolution is provided by the dual evolutionary foundations of political ideology, which track trade-offs between: (1) threat-driven group conformity (social conservatism or right-wing authoritarianism [RWA]) vs. individual autonomy (social progressivism); and (2) a competitive motivation for hierarchy (economic conservatism or social dominance orientation [SDO]) vs. cooperation (economic progressivism). Using longitudinal data from a UK sample (n=433), we show that social (RWA), but not economic (SDO), conservatism significantly increased following the pandemic, and self-reported worry about the pandemic predicts this effect. Moreover, both social conservatives and economic progressives display strong responses to COVID-19, but for different reasons. While social conservatives generally display more worried and conformist/norm-enforcing responses, economic progressives display more cooperative, empathic responses and only worried or conformist/norm-enforcing responses related to empathy. These findings provide an explanation for apparently inconsistent results of prior work, support the dual foundations model of political ideology, and offer insight into divergent motives across the ideological landscape that may be useful for managing pandemic response.

China’s ‘masculinity crisis’ reflects economic change

Significance Expectations of male behaviour have changed in ways the authorities and social conservatives disapprove of. While the authorities censor media depictions of ‘effeminate’ men and introduce ‘boot camp’-type activities in schools to make boys more aggressive, sales of male beauty products skyrocket and male celebrities presenting ‘androgynous’ role models become hundred-million-dollar brands. Impacts Growth in China’s multi-billion-dollar market for male grooming products will outpace that of female products. Social and internalised pressure on men not to marry women who earn more than they do will depress marriage rates. Shortage of nurses and elderly carers as the population ages may prompt efforts to make these more attractive careers for men.

Who Funds Conservatism, Inc.?

This chapter focuses on conservative think tanks, which represent for Republicans and those who claim to be conservative a sort of alternative mass outlet. In these institutions, one encounters advocates of tax cuts, those who support pro-business economic policies, and opponents of runaway government spending. These think tanks also feature social conservatives who preach traditional values but who usually do not bring in as much funding as other groups represented in conservative think tanks. In understanding the politics of think tanks, it is necessary to look at those responsible for lavishing wealth on them. Once it is made clear who funds the Center Right establishment—also known as Conservatism, Inc.—it should become obvious why some in establishment conservatism rallied against Donald Trump's candidacy and continue to support public policy unpopular with most of the country. The chapter examines the assistance that Republican think tanks in the Washington area receive from defense industries and from those who are pushing for a more activist foreign policy.

“Tune in to the Affirmative”: The Family Channel and the Politics of Positive Programming

The Family Channel, which evolved out of Pat Robertson’s Christian Broadcasting Network, created a new brand of family television and redefined the “family audience” in the 1990s. The channel capitalized on the vacuum produced by the major networks’ pursuit of advertiser-friendly demographics, and created a safe space for traditional family television viewing. By promoting “positivity” as its brand and relying on the nostalgic appeal of older television properties, the Family Channel became the first cable channel to build a “values-based” brand and audience. The Family Channel normalized an ideologically conservative model of commercial family television in an expanding cable landscape, and capitalized on social conservatives’ discontent with mainstream television content. This article analyzes the branding, programming, and public-facing statements of the channel’s executives to reveal how the Family Channel implicitly and explicitly connected this new “family audience” with the ideology and politics of social conservatism.

Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, Richard Owen and monotreme oviparity.

Most biologists, particularly Australian biologists, are aware that the initial description and attempts to classify the echidna and platypus were surrounded by controversy. Fewer are aware of the important roles played by two eminent scientists, Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire in Paris and Richard Owen in London, in the debate as to whether the platypus and echidna were really mammals, and whether they laid eggs. Geoffroy argued that they were egg-laying but could not possibly lactate; Owen argued that they lactated but could not possibly lay eggs. Because of these and many other aspects of their biology, monotremes featured prominently in debates about classification of animals and the transmutation of species, and involved many important scientists of the time. These arguments can only be understood in the context of the development of science in the late eighteenth and the nineteenth century, and how that was influenced by the social context. Early ideas of evolution, or transformism, were attractive to radical thinkers, whereas social conservatives were anxious to show that the boundaries between types of animals, just like the boundaries between social classes, were erected by God and could not be crossed.

Does Our Vision of Diversity Include Social Conservatives?

Achieving our goals of advancing science and benefitting society depends on ideological diversity. Cultivating relationships and dialogue with ideological opponents creates compassion and progress.

Resurrecting Islam or Cementing Social Hierarchy?: Reexamining the Codification of 'Islamic' Personal Status Law

"33 Arizona Journal of International and Comparative Law 329 (2016)There is a regrettable tendency to equate social conservatism with religious adherence. Nowhere does this occur more than in the Muslim world, where conservatives are closely associated with adherence to shari'a. The more unyielding the conservative, the "stricter" the supposed adherence to shari'a, or, alternatively, the more "literal" the version of shari'a adhered to. While almost any social conservative movement in the Muslim world or otherwise professes adherence to religious doctrine as being the core of its ideological commitment, and while there are important ways in which Muslim social conservatives insist on adherence to religious rules in their most traditional forms, it is a mistake of category to equate the two. Religious doctrine does not always motivate Muslim social conservatives, and the commitments of those social conservatives often derogate from the demands of doctrine. The divergence between the two becomes particularly obvious in the context of the drafting of Islamic legislation that is intended to reflect historic and traditional Islamic rules. A particularly important example of this lies in the subject of examination of this Article -- the recently promulgated draft "Ja'fari Personal Status Code" in Iraq, designed to rewrite the rules of personal status (encompassing primarily family law, wills and inheritance) for Iraq's Shi'i population. The goal was ostensibly to bring those rules into conformity with long established Shi'i juristic interpretations of Islam's sacred texts, in a Sunni dominated state that had spent decades repressing Shi'i jurists and marginalizing the rules they promulgated. Given the motivations of the project (to comply with a longstanding Shi'i demand to change the law to conform more closely to juristic rules), and given that within Shi'ism, the juristic rules are pronounced by modern authorities who continue to retain extremely high levels of legitimacy, one would expect that faithful and close adherence to religious rules would follow in this context if no other. Yet no such faithful adherence is found, and in fact the divergence from doctrine is so stark that the jurists themselves ultimately denounced the draft. Using examples such as prostitution, child marriage, slavery and female genital mutilation, the Article demonstrates the manner in which the draft Code diverges in significant ways from historic Shi'i doctrine in order to defer to preferences and commitments of socially conservative traditionalists who would otherwise claim adherence to the doctrine. It also shows that this sort of deference is exercised not only by lawmakers who seek to curry favor with conservative constituents, but that even the jurists themselves often downplay or obfuscate their own rules when they are aware that such rules are unlikely to be received with very much enthusiasm by the devout who profess, but do not practice, absolute devotion to them. The Article concludes with the observation that the perduring notion that conservatives seek "strict", "pure" or "literalist" shari'a, while liberals wish to "reform" it is not only false, but also dangerous. This broad presumptive equivalence between close adherence to shari'a and Muslim social conservatism privileges the ideological preferences of the social conservative over those of the liberal in a manner that renders it all the more difficult to engage in meaningful religious reform within the Islamic tradition."

CivEd Talks – Millennial Conservatism and Civic Engagement: No, Really, What Do Young Conservatives Want?

Young conservatives are here to stay, and in 2016, they voted in higher numbers — and exhibited higher engagement with candidates and issues — than they had in the past 20 years. But millennial conservatives aren’t social conservatives, and they aren’t necessarily fiscal conservatives, either. Jane Coaston reviewed the latest polling data and analytics in a discussion about what we’re hearing — and not hearing — from a demographic that will impact our politics, and our policies, for decades to com

PENGUATAN GENDER DALAM PENDIDIKAN ISLAM

Gender is understood as a social relation that is attached to the public as sex. This sometimes makes the dilemma of social conservatives-textual, understand that women simply put "under the armpits of men" and not a few is found arbitrariness of male to female with jargon "as one likes me". To accommodate this, the Islamic Education plays an important role as understanding the gender acceleration. Given the spirit of Islamic education is to humanize human beings without distinction of sex.

Pence will seek to shape Trump's policy agenda

Significance Given President Donald Trump's lack of strong ties to Washington, Pence -- despite the limited formal responsibilities of his position -- is anticipated to play a pivotal role in the new administration. To compensate for Trump's lack of experience with policy-making and sometimes-fraught ties with the Republican leadership in Congress, Pence could play a large role in advancing the president's domestic policy agenda. Impacts An unexpectedly poor 2018 midterms result could unravel the current array of conservative forces backing the Trump White House. Ryan's hard-line conservative foes in the House Freedom Caucus could topple him in policy disputes and rob Pence of a potential ally. Pence's political influence will grow when the midterms approach and the electoral imperative to connect with social conservatives renews.