One of the first lessons of majoring in political science, I can tell you from experience, is that "liberal" and "conservative" are extremely malleable terms, denoting very different perspectives in different times and places. In modern Europe, for example, a "liberal" typically is someone with views Americans would call "fiscally conservative."
But that malleability happens on a smaller scale too, reveals a recent study published in the Public Library of Science, an academic journal. As the researchers explain at The Washington Post, they found we all have a fairly local "political reference point," which is our conception of what is politically "normal" or average. So, for example, "if you live in a very red state, what seems middle-of-the-road and therefore moderate will likely be different than if you lived in a deeply blue state."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
5 fact-checked cartoons about Meta firing its fact checkersCartoons Artists take on playing chicken, information superhighway, and more
-
NCHIs: the controversy over non-crime hate incidentsThe Explainer Is the policing of non-crime hate incidents an Orwellian outrage or an essential tool of modern law enforcement?
-
Islamic State: the terror group's second actTalking Point Isis has carried out almost 700 attacks in Syria over the past year, according to one estimate
-
Jimmy Carter honored in state funeral, laid to restSpeed Read The state funeral was attended by all living presidents
-
Trump sentenced after Supreme Court rejectionSpeed Read Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett joined the three liberal justices in the majority
-
DOJ to release half of Trump special counsel reportSpeed Read The portion regarding Trump's retention of classified documents will not be publicly released
-
Jimmy Carter lies in state as 3-day DC farewell beginsSpeed Read The 39th president died on Dec. 29 at the age of 100
-
Giuliani held in contempt of court over forfeit assetsSpeed Read He has failed to turn over $11 million in assets to two Georgia election workers he defamed after the 2020 election
-
Biden resettles 11 more Guantánamo detaineesSpeed Read In an effort to reduce the number of prisoners held in Guantánamo Bay, Biden transferred 11 Yemeni detainees to Oman
-
Canada's Trudeau announces resignationSpeed Read Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is stepping down after nearly a decade in office
-
Biden signs boost to Social Security for public workersSpeed Read The president signed the Social Security Fairness Act into law, expanding retirement benefits for millions
