Politics evokes a lot of passion when voting and communicating, and that’s understandable. But that sometimes leads to us yelling at each other instead of talking with each other. I have found a way that I will be using to communicate with you, and I hope that you’ll use it when communicating with me.

It’s called the Moral Foundation Theory and it defines a set of moral foundations, listed below. If you and I can frame our issues in these foundations, then maybe we still won’t agree, but we will understand each other, and that’s half the battle.

For example, on gender identity, a conservative might claim that the definition of gender is sacred and that a man is a man and a woman is a woman while I would say that it is part of a person’s liberty to decide their gender.

Another example might be that an oil corporation might want some land opened up for drilling because they want the liberty to pursue business, while I might say that the environment is sacred and should not be harmed by oil drilling.

The Moral Foundations

• Care: cherishing and protecting others; opposite of harm.
• Fairness or proportionality: rendering justice according to shared rules; opposite of cheating.
• Liberty: the loathing of tyranny; opposite of oppression.
• Loyalty or ingroup: standing with your group, family, nation; opposite of betrayal.
• Authority or respect: submitting to tradition and legitimate author; opposite of subversion.
• Sanctity or purity: abhorrence for disgusting things, foods, actions; opposite of degradation.