Read this book if you cannot understand how your friends and political opponents can be so certain their views are right, when you just know they are unbelievably wrong and/or stupid.

Seriously, Jonathan Haidt, an avowed atheist liberal (and non sports fan) has written a very readable academic book, that only gets into dry psychology a handful of times. His thesis is that there are 6 Moral Foundations that we all share through genetic evolution and cultural upbringing. Liberals rely almost exclusively on just two of these foundations (Care for others, no harm to the weak; and Liberty in the form of equal rights for all, freedom from oppression by those with authority/power.) As you move to the conservative spectrum, you rely more equally on all the 6 Moral Foundations. This is why it gets so difficult for us right-wing neanderthals to understand why progressives have no respect for legitimate Authority or well-established cultural traditions. And liberal free-loaders just don't get that what's unfair is 50% of the population paying no income tax, and highly motivated,successful hard workers face ever-increasing tax burdens.

This is NOT some politically biased tome. This (appears) to be serious academic writing on moral psychology. Most of the book covers the background, history, and research foundations of the 6 Moral foundations, and then uses them to draw conclusions about people's attitudes toward religion and politics, which is, of course, where the book gets interesting. I qualified this as "appears" to be serious academic writing, since I have no real training in psychology, so I easily accepted his work. I would love to hear from some readers with real Psychology backgrounds to let me know if his thoughts are valid research.