The Independent Whig
The Milwaukee Theme Park
Protecting the Weak
Conventional wisdom says that liberalism protects the weak better than conservatism does. I submit that this conventional wisdom is unwise, and in fact, the wrong way around. Haidt explains in his TED talk that the most successful attempts at creating human societies have come when people used “all the tools in the toolbox.” I submit … Continue reading
Upside Down Analysis
Just after the 41 minute mark in this video of a talk he gave at the Aspen Ideas Festival this year, entitled “The Psychological Foundations of the Culture War (or, How “Liberal” Became a Dirty Word) Jonathan Haidt made a comment that I emphatically disagree with. In this post I suggest why Haidt’s comment might … Continue reading
The Mike Romano Story
This story is excerpted from page 203 through the first paragraph of page 208 of the book Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard, by Chip Heath and Dan Heath. This story is brilliant in that it expresses an idea that is central to the thesis of The Independent Whig: Morality is a … Continue reading
I Support Viewpoint Diversity
A politically diverse group of social scientists, natural scientists, humanists, and other scholars who want to improve our academic disciplines and universities. We share a concern about a growing problem: the loss or lack of “viewpoint diversity.” When nearly everyone in a field shares the same political orientation, certain ideas become orthodoxy, dissent is discouraged, and errors can go unchallenged.
Venn Diagram of Liberal and Conservative Traits and Moral Foundations and
The Independent Whig 