🌀 Why You're Not Actually Liberal or Conservative
Why tribalism precedes philosophy, how the meanings of left and right are always evolving, what Jonathan Haidt got wrong, and pathways towards more generative political conversations.
For most of the last decade, I’ve focused on spirituality and inner work practices while largely steering clear of politics.
I kept my distance because many of the political conversations I encountered didn’t feel generative. They often struck me as reactive, polarizing, and driven by ego rather than by a genuine desire to understand.
And while I still see many of these conversations stuck in the same patterns, I can no longer reconcile a spirituality that disregards politics and worldly engagement. As Gandhi once said:
“Those who say religion has nothing to do with politics do not know what religion is.”
Coming to a similar realization, I’ve grown increasingly interested in how we might foster more meaningful conversations about difficult topics—especially politics—and begin to find common ground from which we can build a flourishing future together.
For some time, I’ve also carried the intuition that part of the problem lies in how we frame politics. The whole notion of “left” and “right” has always struck me as too rigid and oversimplified.
Recently, I read a book that helped crystallize this intuition. The Myth of Left and Right by Hyrum and Verlan Lewis argues that what it means to be liberal or conservative is constantly shifting — and viewing politics through this binary frame is part of what fuels polarization.
I found this idea worth sharing, so I invited Hyrum to have a conversation.
Click the video below to tune in as we speak about why tribalism precedes philosophy, how the meanings of left and right are always evolving, what Jonathan Haidt got wrong, pathways towards more generative political conversations, and the relationship between religion and politics.
Insightful Quotes 🗣️
“First you choose a tribe, and then you try to fit in all your beliefs so they fit neatly into that tribe.”
“The political spectrum turns us into the creators of straw men. It doesn’t let us engage arguments at their strongest.”
“We are allowing [the parties] to get away with their evil by playing into the myth [of left and right]. And I suspect a lot of them know it’s a lie, but they know that lie fills their coffers and gives them power.”
“The myth of left and right says: if you’re wrong about one thing, you must be wrong about everything, because they’re all part of one big righteous or evil package.”
“Both parties get some things right. Everybody we encounter is an ally on at least something, because everybody has something to teach us.”
“We need to give up the quest for the Holy Grail—that there’s one big thing in politics—because there isn’t just one big thing.”
“Being less wrong is what life should be about. But people are not trying to be less wrong; they’re trying to destroy under the delusion that they’re omniscient.”
“We should be binary in our voting—but not binary in our thinking.”
“If we could follow two rules—state your opponent’s position as well as they can, and stop using the terms left-wing and right-wing—we could solve 95% of our political incivility.”
Dive Deeper 🤿
Get “The Myth of Left and Right” by Hyrum and Verlan Lewis
To never miss future episodes make sure to subscribe to the "Elevating Consciousness" podcast on Apple, Spotify, or on most other podcast apps, in which you can paste this RSS link.
You can also subscribe to the YouTube channel if you prefer to watch.
Thanks for reading. If you enjoyed this read click the “subscribe now” button below to subscribe. If you're already a subscriber click the “share insighter” button to share with a friend or the “leave a comment” button to share some thoughts.