Conservatives Love of Nostalgia Can Be Used to Promote Liberal Values [psmag.com]

Alicia Doktor 2/5/184:00 AM

In these polarized times, liberals and conservatives tend to talk past each other. Leftists tend to envision a brighter future, while right-wingers lovingly look to a more-perfect past. "Forward," urged Barack Obama. "Make America Great Again," replied Donald Trump.

Here's a thought: What if we could decouple those deep-seated propensities from actual policy positions? Specifically, what if liberals advocated for a progressive platform by evoking conservatives' nostalgia for a romanticized bygone era?

Two researchers tried it—and found the approach markedly decreased conservatives' resistance to liberal ideas. Amazingly, this held true even when dealing with such hot-button issues as immigration and guns.

[For more on this story by TOM JACOBS, go to https://psmag.com/news/the-gra...or-the-good-old-days]

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