Conservatism Quote by Joseph Epstein
““Conservatives and those on the right are usually willing to settle for thinking themselves correct on political issues; those on the left have always needed to feel not so much that they are correct but that they are also good. Disagree with someone on the right and he is likely to think you obtuse, wrong, sentimental, foolish, a dope; disagree with someone one the left and he is more likely to think you selfish, cold-hearted, a sellout, evil-in league with the devil, he might say, if he didn't think religious terminology too coarse for our secular age. To this day one will hear of people who fell for Communism in a big way let off the hook because they were sincere; if one's heart is in the right place, nothing else matters, even if one's naive opinions made it easier for tyrants to murder millions.””
About This Quote
Source Essay: The New Yorker, “The Left’s Moralism,” 2020
The quote contrasts how political sides prioritize correctness versus moral virtue, suggesting the left values being good as much as being right, while the right emphasizes being correct.
In simple terms: Right focuses on correctness; left values moral goodness.
Key Takeaway
Recognize bias in political judgments.
Themes
politics
morality
ideology
bias
perception
Mood
critical
analytical
skeptical
Type
observation
analysis
commentary
When to use this quote
- political debate
- media analysis
- personal reflection
- public discourse
Key Concepts
cognitive bias
identity politics
virtue signaling
Questions to Reflect On
- How do you assess moral intent versus factual correctness?
- Can one be both correct and good?
A Different Perspective
Oversimplifies complex motivations of individuals.
![“The important thing is that you should not argue with them [Communists]…Whatever you say, they have ways of twisting it into shapes which put you in some lower category of mankind, ‘Fascist,’ ‘Liberal,’ ‘Trotskyist,’ and disparage you both intellectually and personally in the process.” quote by F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/9ab/f-scott-fitzgerald-72_anticommunism_the-important-thing-is-that-you-should-n_1609630.jpg)
![“So many people operate in a world of right and wrong [that] they become polarized. You're conservative or you're liberal; and if you're one or the other, you can't be both. I just think that this idea of right and wrong is kind of a damaging idea.” quote by Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/727/robert-kiyosaki-260_conservative_so-many-people-operate-in-a-world-of-rig_1584682.jpg)
