(2013-06-05) Kling Three Languages Of Politics

Arnold Kling has a Thin Book out on The ThreeLanguages Of Politics ASIN:B00CCGF81Q

Mr. Kling's three "languages" are ways of talking about (Framing) politics and government, and they align roughly with the Progressive, Conservative and Libertarian viewpoints. Progressives, Mr. Kling thinks, typically express opinions using an "oppressed-oppressor axis": societal problems are envisioned mainly as forms of oppression (Coercion) of the weak by the strong. Conservatives favor a "CivilizatIon-barbarism axis" and worry about how to defend traditional values and institutions. Libertarians use a "FreeDom-Coercion axis" in which the threat is governmental (BigGov) encroachment on individual choice... He does think, however, that closer attention to contrasting political languages can give us some level of respect for our opponents' views, even if we continue to think those views completely wrong.