The current political landscape is nothing if not divided, with conservatives and liberals arguing over a seemingly exhaustible ideological divide.  Finding a degree of common ground might be crucial if the two parties are to work effectively together, and new research from Cornell University suggests the protestant work ethic might be just the trick.

The researchers examined notions of fairness through the lens of Moral Foundation Theory, and discovered that those on the left tend to view such matters as an issue of equity, especially around where people start in life.  It’s a view that conservatives don’t tend to share, but the researchers believe where the two sides do join up is in the belief that one’s outcomes should be proportional to the effort they put in.

“Even though people on the political left are somewhat less likely to buy into the belief that ‘you get what you give’ than those on the political right,” the authors say. “It seems that concerns about meritocracy, and what some have called the Protestant Work Ethic, are interwoven into the fabric of American principles.”

Moral foundations

Moral Foundations Theory (MFT) is a psychological framework that aims to unpack why people judge various moral situations in wholly different ways.  In a political context, this encompasses the different ways we view and support policies.

Participants in the research were asked to complete a questionnaire designed to gauge their moral foundations in areas such as fairness, loyalty, authority and respect.  They were also asked about their political leanings and any party affiliations they had.

The researchers examined two potential foundations upon which they suggest people base judgments around right and wrong.  The first of these was equity, and particularly the desire for people to receive support so that they have an equal chance of success.  The second was proportionality, with support afforded in proportion to the effort people put in.

The scores for each of these areas proved to be a strong predictor of the party affiliation of the volunteer, with equity being hugely important to democrats, and proportionality being hugely important to conservatives.  The next step is to explore whether similar foundations exist outside of the US.

“If we get a better sense of how these foundations play out in cultural contexts outside the U.S., we will have a much better idea of whether Equity and Proportionality are inherent to all of our moral evaluations,” the researchers conclude.