Can Libertarians Be Moral? A Psychoanalysis

[Matt Collins]

GREAT read that I highly recommend:

The Science of Libertarian Morality (http://reason.com/archives/2011/01/20/the-science-of-libertarian-mor)

A social psychology study explores the formation of the libertarian personality


http://reason.com/archives/2011/01/20/the-science-of-libertarian-mor

[akforme]

That's a good article and I would agree with a good portion of it.

I like the empathizer/systemizer scale because I had a discussion about this last night with one of my right wing buddies who was blaming welfare people. My argument was I don't blame the people, I blame a system that breeds this type of dependency, the people on welfare are as much victims as anyone.

[t0rnado]

The researchers also found that libertarians tend to be less flummoxed by various moral dilemmas, such as the famous “trolley problem.” In the trolley problem, five workmen will be killed by a runaway trolley unless you move a track switch which will divert the train but kill one workman—or, in another version, push a fat man off a bridge stopping the trolley. Typically, most people will choose to move the switch, but refuse to push the fat man. Why the difference? The utilitarian moral calculus is the same—save five by killing one. According to the researchers, libertarians are more likely to resolve moral dilemmas by applying this utilitarian calculus.

What a shitty study. This crap doesn't deserve to get published anywhere.

[Philhelm]

Some of the more intriguing results involve the empathizer/systemizer scale. Empathizers identify with another person’s emotions, whereas systemizers are driven to understand the underlying rules that govern behavior in nature and society. Libertarians, unlike both liberals and conservatives, scored very high on systemizing. The authors note, “We might say that liberals have the most ‘feminine’ cognitive style, and libertarians the most ‘masculine.’

Hahahahahaha!!!

[Sola_Fide]

Real men are libertarians.

I like that.

[Gaius1981]

It's a bit of a common theme in many personality tests. Reason, self-reliance and independence are considered the most masculine personality traits, as opposed to emotionalism and dependence. In this regard, libertarians are more masculine than even conservatives. Any Clint Eastwood character may be used as an embodiment of these libertarian personality traits. :)

[awake]

Libertarian is the love of justice; what it ought to be vs. what it is, which in itself is ethical and moral. As for what one would do in a preconceived situation to save x amount of human beings given choice A or B, is poor way to describe what an actual person would really do. In a real situation that person may do nothing of the A and B sort, and option C, D , E and F may exist. What's more, these scenarios completely discount the actions of others in saving themselves. This makes 'what if's' an impotent manner in judging moral foundations.

[awake]

Psychology: whats wrong with you today.

[NewRightLibertarian]

Relying on the empathy of man to care for those who are less fortunate is more moral than proposing some giant state apparatus to take care of the poor so the average dullard can loaf around and feel like he's doing something virtuous just by voting. I am convinced that the only reason libertarianism is badmouthed by people is because it would disable a cabal of rulers from lording over a given population. The Democrat/Republican system is immoral as any, and they have the nerve to badmouth libertarianism as immoral. Such BS.