Liberal and conservative are, politically at least, relative terms. In Australian politics Bernie Sanders would be a center RIGHT moderate with wet economic leanings. Yet we remain a functioning democracy with a market capitalist economy.

I often wonder what conservatives think that they are conserving. Seems to me it is greed, bigotry and homophobia.

Disgust tolerance has been show to predict political affiliation with very high accuracy. The more easily disgusted you are, you more likely you're pulling for the red team. All other factors and beliefs may just be assimilated viewpoints that people defend once they find themselves on a particular team.

This is been my observation. I grew up in a politically conservative environment and the same people who use racist slang and denigrate super poor people will also donate their last $10 to a fund raiser for one of their own kind

They will also babysit, give rides, and many other kind things which is probably why we can't get through to them about some issues. They really are "nice" people if you are one of them

"Empathy only to their kin" sounds like a similar mindset to not caring about a particular disease unless they get it themselves.

I've been to a seminar of professor Hibbing. The most interesting pieces to me are the in vs out group psychology as well as the actual brain scans that show how true conservatism causes excessive stimulation of the fight/flight receptors and link to emotional non-fact based decision-making. For example, the ability to set aside the fact that a candidate is an accused child molester for the sake of voting for someone who would make sure the second amendment was upheld.

I think the labels "Conservative" and "Liberal" are quite absurd in the United States. The so called conservatives who current run our government are actually radical statists who serve a multinational plutocracy of banks and oil companies.

Wow, fascinating!

This study is absolutely on target. Conservatives are much more tribal in their concern for people. They tend to care only for those who share their cultural beliefs and/or skin color In other words, they are inherently bigots, but simply cannot admit it. They are people who lack the moral courage to see themselves as they are.

You see the tendency of tribalism in how they deal with violators of the group's trust (violence, deviant behavior, criminal, abuse). Conservatives are much more likely to forgive or make excuses for the misdeeds. Liberals are more likely to throw the bastard under the bus!

"...suggest that conservatives are simply more likely to extend that empathy only to their kin." That would hardly be helpful to society as a whole.

"According to the experts who study political leanings, liberals and conservatives do not just see things differently. They are different—in their personalities and even their unconscious reactions to the world around them. For example, in a study published in January, a team led by psychologist Michael Dodd and political scientist John Hibbing of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln found that when viewing a collage of photographs, conservatives' eyes unconsciously lingered 15 percent longer on repellent images, such as car wrecks and excrement—suggesting that conservatives are more attuned than liberals to assessing potential threats."

[scientificamerican.com]

In an unpublished study, participants first indicated whether they considered themselves “very conservative” or “very liberal”on a scale from 1 to 7. Then they were asked to report how empathetic they felt towards different groups. Conservatives tended to agree with statements like “I often have tender, concerned feelings for my family members who are less fortunate than me.”

The liberal study subjects more frequently reported feeling that same tenderness toward less fortunate people in general, beyond those in their own families.

This fits with previous studies that show conservatives are extremely tribal and view outsiders as threats. They will be compassionate and even empathetic, but only to those they consider part of their tribe. That’s why racism, homophobia and misogyny are so much more common on the right, because they draw their tribes so narrowly and view anyone who is outside their circle as a serious threat to everything they hold dear. They are far more likely, studies show, to react with fear to outsiders than liberals are.