Verlan Lewis
Biographic Data
| ID | 3876362 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Verlan Lewis |
| GIVEN NAMES | Verlan |
| FAMILY NAME | Lewis |
| SIGNATURE | LEWIS V |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Virginia |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-9301-1192 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 18 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 21 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 18 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2013 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2023 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
The Persistence of Left and Right
Ideological thinking endures for three primary reasons. First, it satisfies our desire for simplicity. A model which says that all politics is about just one big issue is tidy and elegant. It is a psychological shortcut that people use to reduce uncertainty and avoid complex thinking. Second, it satisfies our need to disguise our tribalism. Partisanship and conformity are ignoble reasons to hold the political positions we do, so we invent ideolog…
The Development of Left and Right
In the postwar era, new issues arose to complicate American political discourse and this rendered the political spectrum obsolete. The addition of these new dimensions led directly to the myth of left and right that has been the source of so much confusion and hostility in contemporary public life. From 1950 to 1980, conservatism evolved beyond a simple hostility to government intervention, and began advocating more government in social and forei…
The Myth of Left and Right
The left-right political spectrum is the dominant paradigm of contemporary American politics, but it promotes the confusion and hostility that characterize our current public discourse. Not only is a unidimensional spectrum inadequate to model the many, unrelated political issues under debate today, but the meanings of left and right are also constantly changing. Instead of acknowledging this, most politically engaged Americans insist that there …
The Myth of Left and Right
The myth of left and right is the false belief that a principle underlies the political spectrum. While it is undeniable that many Americans hold their political views in packages that we call ideologies—those who support abortion rights, for instance, are also more likely to support income tax increases, pacifism, and affirmative action—the question is “why?” Two theories propose an answer. The essentialist theory says that it’s because all posi…
Copyright Page
The Consequences of Left and Right
Ideological essentialism is taking a terrible toll on our collective well-being by causing severe intellectual, moral, and political damage. Essentialism reduces our cognitive ability. By giving the illusion that ideology is about principle instead of tribes, essentialism turns people into ideologues, and ideologues are generally more given to sloppy thinking than non-ideologues. Essentialism also generates unnecessary prejudice and hostility. It…
The Origins of Left and Right
Although many people assume that left and right are natural categories, they are actually social constructs that were invented in France, and came to America, at specific points in history. After the Russian Revolution, politicians, intellectuals, and historians increasingly referred to mainstream politics in left–right terms and, by the mid-1930s, the terms “left,” “liberal,” and “progressive” had become associated with the more expansive govern…
The Future of Left and Right
While it is true that the essentialist paradigm currently has a firm grip on society, there is the possibility that we can break free. Recognizing the myth of left and right and going granular in political discourse can minimize the scourge of ideology and make our political interactions more informed and constructive. Since political positions do not come naturally packaged together, we should stop pretending they do. Instead of thinking in term…
The “Authentic” Left and Right
The main objection to the social theory of ideology is that it does not deal with “authentic” ideology or ideologues, but this claim does not hold. Essentialists who believe that those ideologues who do not fit their essentialist definition are not “true” ideologues are falling victim to a private language fallacy that ultimately leads to circular reasoning (e.g., “conservatives oppose change and if conservatives support change that just shows th…
Conclusion
Abandoning ideological essentialism is necessary for progress in politics just as abandoning geocentrism was necessary for progress in astronomy. The choice before us is a stark one: we can either continue to be socially divided into warring political tribes based on the myth that we are fighting about fundamental worldviews, or we can discard the essentialist fiction and begin the constructive work of coming up with political solutions independe…
Myth of Left and Right
Aristocracy, Democracy, and Liberalism
While previous scholarship has created anachronistic categories to analyze the political thought of notable liberals like John Stuart Mill and Alexis de Tocqueville, this article improves our understanding of liberalism by using an analytic category supplied by the writers themselves. Using Tocqueville’s aristocracy-democracy dichotomy, this paper demonstrates important differences in the social and political thought of Mill and Tocqueville previ…
Cape mission liberalism and the South African liberation struggle
To help us better understand the impact of European colonisation on South African political thought, it is important to recognise the role played by both race and religion. Given the outsized role that Christian mission schools have had on South African political history, this article seeks to identify how the Cape mission liberal tradition, specifically, influenced twentieth-century South African political thought. By examining the lives and ide…
Un-American
The problem of Donald Trump and the Static Spectrum Fallacy
Donald Trump’s transformation of Republican Party ideology has helped reveal major problems in the political science discipline’s conceptualization and measurement of ideology. Most scholarship is dominated by the mistaken view that party ideology changes can best be described by parties moving “left” or “right” on a static, ideological, spatial spectrum. In reality, the meaning and content of “left” and “right” (“liberal” and “conservative”) con…
Party Control of Government and American Party Ideology Development
Throughout U.S. history, the two major political parties have switched positions many times on a variety of issues, including how powerful the national government should be and how much it should regulate and guide the American economy. Are these changes simply the product of historical contingency, or are there structural factors at work that can help explain these developments? This article finds that change in party control of government can h…
The President and the Parties’ Ideologies
Throughout U.S. history, the two major political parties have switched positions many times on a variety of issues, including whether the United States should intervene more or less in foreign affairs. Are these changes simply the product of historical contingency, or are there structural factors at work that can help explain these developments? This article finds that change in party control of the presidency can help explain change in party ide…
The Presidential Election of 2012 by the Numbers and in Historical Perspective
This essay explores the scope of President Obama’s re-election victory in 2012 by comparing it to previous presidential elections in American history. Three conclusions are drawn. First, Obama’s margin of victory in 2012 is modest by historical standards, though Obama did make history by becoming the first re-elected President to lose both Electoral College votes and popular vote share between his first and second election. Next, despite some cla…
The President and the Parties’ Ideologies
Throughout U.S. history, the two major political parties have switched positions many times on a variety of issues, including whether the United States should intervene more or less in foreign affairs. Are these changes simply the product of historical contingency, or are there structural factors at work that can help explain these developments? This article finds that change in party control of the presidency can help explain change in party ide…
The problem of Donald Trump and the Static Spectrum Fallacy
Donald Trump’s transformation of Republican Party ideology has helped reveal major problems in the political science discipline’s conceptualization and measurement of ideology. Most scholarship is dominated by the mistaken view that party ideology changes can best be described by parties moving “left” or “right” on a static, ideological, spatial spectrum. In reality, the meaning and content of “left” and “right” (“liberal” and “conservative”) con…
The Presidential Election of 2012 by the Numbers and in Historical Perspective
This essay explores the scope of President Obama’s re-election victory in 2012 by comparing it to previous presidential elections in American history. Three conclusions are drawn. First, Obama’s margin of victory in 2012 is modest by historical standards, though Obama did make history by becoming the first re-elected President to lose both Electoral College votes and popular vote share between his first and second election. Next, despite some cla…
The Presidential Election of 2012 by the Numbers and in Historical Perspective
This essay explores the scope of President Obama’s re-election victory in 2012 by comparing it to previous presidential elections in American history. Three conclusions are drawn. First, Obama’s margin of victory in 2012 is modest by historical standards, though Obama did make history by becoming the first re-elected President to lose both Electoral College votes and popular vote share between his first and second election. Next, despite some cla…
The President and the Parties’ Ideologies
Throughout U.S. history, the two major political parties have switched positions many times on a variety of issues, including whether the United States should intervene more or less in foreign affairs. Are these changes simply the product of historical contingency, or are there structural factors at work that can help explain these developments? This article finds that change in party control of the presidency can help explain change in party ide…
Party Control of Government and American Party Ideology Development
Throughout U.S. history, the two major political parties have switched positions many times on a variety of issues, including how powerful the national government should be and how much it should regulate and guide the American economy. Are these changes simply the product of historical contingency, or are there structural factors at work that can help explain these developments? This article finds that change in party control of government can h…
Un-American
The problem of Donald Trump and the Static Spectrum Fallacy
Donald Trump’s transformation of Republican Party ideology has helped reveal major problems in the political science discipline’s conceptualization and measurement of ideology. Most scholarship is dominated by the mistaken view that party ideology changes can best be described by parties moving “left” or “right” on a static, ideological, spatial spectrum. In reality, the meaning and content of “left” and “right” (“liberal” and “conservative”) con…
Aristocracy, Democracy, and Liberalism
While previous scholarship has created anachronistic categories to analyze the political thought of notable liberals like John Stuart Mill and Alexis de Tocqueville, this article improves our understanding of liberalism by using an analytic category supplied by the writers themselves. Using Tocqueville’s aristocracy-democracy dichotomy, this paper demonstrates important differences in the social and political thought of Mill and Tocqueville previ…
Cape mission liberalism and the South African liberation struggle
To help us better understand the impact of European colonisation on South African political thought, it is important to recognise the role played by both race and religion. Given the outsized role that Christian mission schools have had on South African political history, this article seeks to identify how the Cape mission liberal tradition, specifically, influenced twentieth-century South African political thought. By examining the lives and ide…
The Persistence of Left and Right
Ideological thinking endures for three primary reasons. First, it satisfies our desire for simplicity. A model which says that all politics is about just one big issue is tidy and elegant. It is a psychological shortcut that people use to reduce uncertainty and avoid complex thinking. Second, it satisfies our need to disguise our tribalism. Partisanship and conformity are ignoble reasons to hold the political positions we do, so we invent ideolog…
The Development of Left and Right
In the postwar era, new issues arose to complicate American political discourse and this rendered the political spectrum obsolete. The addition of these new dimensions led directly to the myth of left and right that has been the source of so much confusion and hostility in contemporary public life. From 1950 to 1980, conservatism evolved beyond a simple hostility to government intervention, and began advocating more government in social and forei…
The Myth of Left and Right
The left-right political spectrum is the dominant paradigm of contemporary American politics, but it promotes the confusion and hostility that characterize our current public discourse. Not only is a unidimensional spectrum inadequate to model the many, unrelated political issues under debate today, but the meanings of left and right are also constantly changing. Instead of acknowledging this, most politically engaged Americans insist that there …
The Myth of Left and Right
The myth of left and right is the false belief that a principle underlies the political spectrum. While it is undeniable that many Americans hold their political views in packages that we call ideologies—those who support abortion rights, for instance, are also more likely to support income tax increases, pacifism, and affirmative action—the question is “why?” Two theories propose an answer. The essentialist theory says that it’s because all posi…
Copyright Page
The Consequences of Left and Right
Ideological essentialism is taking a terrible toll on our collective well-being by causing severe intellectual, moral, and political damage. Essentialism reduces our cognitive ability. By giving the illusion that ideology is about principle instead of tribes, essentialism turns people into ideologues, and ideologues are generally more given to sloppy thinking than non-ideologues. Essentialism also generates unnecessary prejudice and hostility. It…
The Origins of Left and Right
Although many people assume that left and right are natural categories, they are actually social constructs that were invented in France, and came to America, at specific points in history. After the Russian Revolution, politicians, intellectuals, and historians increasingly referred to mainstream politics in left–right terms and, by the mid-1930s, the terms “left,” “liberal,” and “progressive” had become associated with the more expansive govern…
The Future of Left and Right
While it is true that the essentialist paradigm currently has a firm grip on society, there is the possibility that we can break free. Recognizing the myth of left and right and going granular in political discourse can minimize the scourge of ideology and make our political interactions more informed and constructive. Since political positions do not come naturally packaged together, we should stop pretending they do. Instead of thinking in term…
The “Authentic” Left and Right
The main objection to the social theory of ideology is that it does not deal with “authentic” ideology or ideologues, but this claim does not hold. Essentialists who believe that those ideologues who do not fit their essentialist definition are not “true” ideologues are falling victim to a private language fallacy that ultimately leads to circular reasoning (e.g., “conservatives oppose change and if conservatives support change that just shows th…
Conclusion
Abandoning ideological essentialism is necessary for progress in politics just as abandoning geocentrism was necessary for progress in astronomy. The choice before us is a stark one: we can either continue to be socially divided into warring political tribes based on the myth that we are fighting about fundamental worldviews, or we can discard the essentialist fiction and begin the constructive work of coming up with political solutions independe…
Myth of Left and Right
Law (16 works) · Political science (16 works) · Politics (16 works) · Sociology (14 works) · Ideology (11 works) · Philosophy (11 works) · Epistemology (8 works) · Political economy (8 works) · Essentialism (6 works) · Electoral Systems and Political Participation (5 works)