What you’re saying sort of makes sense to me, but I think it’s my confirmation bias.
I think that a big difference between the way that people who are conservative or liberal act, is what makes them anxious and what relieves it. People seem to choose their political ideology based on what their psychological needs are.
Everyone wants to feel safe.
Some people feel more safe when they know what to expect- stability, immutability, self-reliance, respect for authority, strict and consistent codes of behavior expectations- these tend to help some people (conservatives) feel more safe, while they tend to make other people (liberals) feel insecure and threatened.
On the other hand, some people feel more safe when their options are open- behavior norms are mercurial, authority is to be questioned, self-reliance is good but we can all pitch in, traditions are not inherently valuable, societal norms are not invulnerable to examination- this stuff makes some people feel more safe (liberals), while they tend to make other people (conservatives) feel insecure and threatened.
Both left-wing and right-wing are susceptible to opportunistic authoritarians. Lefty Communists or Righty Fascists, either way there’s a power grab to be had at the top and lots of folks to step on at the bottom.
Some scientists have found a correlation between the size of the amygdala and political ideology, although it’s impossible thus far to assert causation. The amygdala handles fear and threat assessment, and conservatives were found to have larger amygdalas. However, another study found that smaller amygdalas caused people to be more aggressive. I’m too lazy to give you links right now, you can google that stuff easily if you’re interested.
