"Why Conservatives Work Harder, Feel Happier, Have Closer Families, Take Fewer Drugs, Give More Generously, Value Honesty More, Are Less Materialistic And Envious, Whine Less . . . And Even Hug Their Children More Than Liberals

Peter Schweizer, a research fellow at the Hoover Institution, delineates the thesis of his fine study in his title:  Makers and Takers:  Why Conservatives Work Harder, Feel Happier, Have Closer Families, Take Fewer Drugs, Give More Generously, Value Honesty More, Are Less Materialistic and Envious, Whine Less . . . and Even Hug Their Children More than Liberals (New York:  Doubleday, c. 2008).   This contravenes the liberal mantra, articulated by the popular radio personality Garrison Keillor, who declared:  “Republicans are swamp developers and corporate shills, faith-based economists, fundamentalist bullies with Bibles, Christians of convenience, freelance racists, misanthropic frat boys, shrieking midgets of AM radio, tax cheats, nihilists in golf pants, brownshirts in pinstripes, sweatshop tycoons, hacks, aggressive dorks’” (p. 8).

Keillor represents, Schweizer says, not simply a political stance but a way of life—a worldview.  Careful, scholarly studies reveal that “those on the political left are much more likely to complain about their jobs, their families, their neighbors, their health, and their relative wealth—even when they earn the same as conservatives.  In short, the major surveys show that those on the left tend to be chronically dissatisfied with almost everything in their lives” (p. 21).   In fact, liberals are more selfish, less generous with their money, less hardworking, less honest, and less knowledgeable about public affairs and economics.  Conservatives, on the other hand, are happier, better parents, more charitable, and less angry about things in general.

The allure of liberalism is easily explained:  it enables one to occupy a moral high ground, to feel good about oneself, simply by demanding the government care for everyone.  “Today’s liberalism is completely wrapped up with the notion of itself.  The legacy of the sixties’ ‘if it feels good do it’ ethos is alive and well” (p. 31).   One study of students in elite universities revealed that “those who were very liberal or radical tended to have a ‘narcissistic pathology,’ which included ‘grandiosity, envy, a lack of empathy, illusion of personal perfection, and a sense of entitlement’” (p. 41).  Thus those on the left frequently refuse to marry, and if they do they refuse to procreate.  In San Francisco, for example, “there are more dogs than children” (p. 32)."