Andrew Gelman disagreed with me Sunday:
Conservatives support low taxes so that those who have worked hard for their money can show off the fruits of their labor and earn full respect for it.
I don’t think that showing off is anything like a basic conservative value, beyond the idea that people should feel free to show off if they want to. … Conservatives support low taxes because they think the market is more effective than the government at producing prosperity.
Liberals support gay marriage because they want us all to officially respect gays as much as straights; gay activists have earned their group more respect.
Liberals support gay marriage because they don’t think it’s fair that straight people can marry and gays can’t.
His commentators said I meant unconscious strategies, and I said:
This was an attempt to identify the signaling persona behind common ideologies, not the conscious rationalizations people give.
Andrew clarified:
I don’t think signaling is as important as [Robin] does, but I’m pretty sure it’s more important than most of generally assume. … That said, I think his descriptions of conservatives and liberals are so caricatured as to be a hindrance to his thinking.
Monday, Andrew elaborated in a new post:
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