The New Scientist has just posted an interview on morality and politics with Jonathan Haidt, a psychologist at the University of Virginia and author of the new book, The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion. Before you read  the interview, I should note that Haidt’s research is controversial — while highly regarded by many, it has also been criticized by several public intellectuals (1, 2, 3, 4).

Nevertheless, you can decide what you think by clicking here.

Here’s a snippet of the interview. 

What should [Democrats] do differently?

To get folks to vote for you—and go on voting for you—you need to tap into several of their moral foundations. When Barack Obama and the Democrats were changing the health care system, couldn’t they at least have put on a show of worrying about cheaters—a concern that is stronger on the right than on the left? Couldn’t they have pretended to care about catching all the doctors and lawyers who are in cahoots with patients to rip off the system?