Enchanted America Quotes

“It is worth pausing for a moment to reflect on these differences. Recall that our measures of Intuitionism are based on sets of behaviors that have nothing to do with politics. Intuitionists are not simply apprehensive people who are drawn to metaphors, but people who translate these tendencies into a number of beliefs that defy basic scientific logic. And this way of thinking is becoming increasingly aligned with one’s ideological self-description. Only a tiny fraction of Americans calling themselves very conservative do not hold a least some magical beliefs; an overwhelming majority of strong conservatives are also very strong magical thinkers.36 To be very conservative in America is, almost certainly, to be someone who has a strong Intuitionist worldview. These differences are important for US politics. Not only are liberals disproportionately Democrat in their party identification, they are disproportionately Rationalist in their worldview. Where liberals do hold higher levels of magical beliefs, they tend to be non-Christian ones like horoscopes or reincarnation. Conservatives, meanwhile, are not only more likely to be Republican, they are more likely to be strongly Intuitionist. The Rationalist conservatives who attend talks at the Cato Institute or subscribe to Reason magazine are a small minority on the political Right. Indeed, it’s the rare American who identifies as a strong conservative who doesn’t hold a lot of Christian magical beliefs. Conservatism and magical thinking, especially within religious fundamentalism, are increasingly becoming aligned. And as we’ll see in chapter 4, this alignment between Intuitionism and ideology is behind much of the polarization in US politics.”
― J. Eric Oliver, Enchanted America: How Intuition & Reason Divide Our Politics

“One reason why fundamentalists have such high ACR scores may be due to church doctrine. Many of the fundamentalist theologians who espouse supernatural interpretations of scripture are often the same ones who advocate strict child-rearing practices.20 For example, Rev. James Dobson’s best-selling book, Dare to Discipline, explicitly links its fundamentalist beliefs to having obedient and well-mannered children. And upon reflection, this connection between strict child rearing and fundamentalism is not at all surprising. Many fundamentalist sects demand submission and obedience to the strict will of God. It’s no surprise, then, that obedience and respect are regarded as desirable traits among people who see them as pathways to salvation. That noted, it’s also important to recognize that not all authoritarians are fundamentalists. Indeed, 45 percent of strong authoritarians do not hold fundamentalist beliefs. And some of this difference may have to do with another factor emphasized by the original authors of The Authoritarian Personality: childhood experience. By their account, being raised in an overly harsh or punitive social environment contributes to authoritarianism. These same factors might also contribute to magical thinking. Our research suggests that this is plausible. In our surveys, we asked respondents to describe their childhood in very general terms. Did they grow up in a •  very strict house where all rules had to be followed (31 percent); •  moderate house where only some rules were strictly enforced (59 percent); •  relaxed house where my parents largely let me alone (10 percent). Not surprisingly, these items are correlated with ACR scores. Authoritarians are far more likely to report being raised in strict homes; for example, 42 percent of people raised in strict homes are strong authoritarians, compared with only 23 percent of people from relaxed homes. More important, however, is that the type of home you were raised in is also a big predictor of your Intuitionism score. People from strict homes score four points higher on our Intuitionism scale than people from either moderate or relaxed homes, even when we take their ACR scores into account.”
― J. Eric Oliver, Enchanted America: How Intuition & Reason Divide Our Politics

“The approach of The Authoritarian Personality overlaps quite a bit with our theories of intuitive politics. As with magical thinking, authoritarianism is a nonrational way of viewing the world. It is based more on gut feelings, albeit rather dark ones, than on general principles. Like Intuitionists, authoritarians hold Manichaean notions of good and evil, believe strongly in rigid gender roles and immanent justice, and are intolerant of ambiguity and abstract thinking.13 Even more striking is the importance of anxiety. Just like magical beliefs, authoritarianism appears to be largely triggered by feelings of threat. There is strong evidence that authoritarianism is a latent predisposition that gets activated in stressful circumstances.”
― J. Eric Oliver, Enchanted America: How Intuition & Reason Divide Our Politics

“Intuitionists are people who rely heavily on their intuitions when making judgments. They have a lot of magical beliefs. They interpret the world through their emotions, taking their own apprehensions and fears as indicative that something truly is amiss. To resolve this apprehension, they are drawn to symbols and metaphors. Their reliance on their emotions also gives them a narcissistic worldview. It is their feelings that determine the significance of any event, be it natural or man-made. For Intuitionists, the same God that created the universe is also engrossed with their innermost thoughts and deeds. They are at the apex of history, the protagonists of a great cosmic drama. They view politics from their own feelings and infantile longings rather than from dispassionate analysis of world events. They are less concerned with the technicalities of governance and more animated by the visceral issues that stoke their anxieties. In politics, they are drawn to easy solutions, evocative symbols, and the conspiratorial musings of demagogues. In other words, Americans’ political opinions are determined not simply by ideologies or abstract values but by how much they rely on their intuitive processes for comprehending the world.”
― J. Eric Oliver, Enchanted America: How Intuition & Reason Divide Our Politics