Quadrant Differences in Fear of the Physical World

Each quadrant embraces what another quadrant fears.

The Vertical Poles

Both the establishment and anti-establishment believe their fear is well founded while the opposite fear is irrational. Both sides have some credible research on their side.

Establishment Fear of Microbes

Jordan Peterson has been perplexed about the political right having a more lenient stance on COVID transmission risk. As a psychologist, he expected (and the research predicts) the political right to be more scrupulous about purity and more germ phobic. What overrides that tendency in this case is that the establishment, both left and right, tend to live in more dense urban areas. This density creates quicker and easier transmission of microbes. Although the dissident right contains some of the jet set, it seems largely to be found in the Pew types establishment left (part of the top left quadrant) and the committed conservatives (part of the top right quadrant). These travelers are more likely to participate in disease transmission, so they have reason to be more cautious. The establishment left has the greatest tendency to be city dwelling and rule compliant, so they led the charge in the masking and vaccination efforts.

Anti-establishment Dismissal of Microbes as a Threat

The anti-establishment loves its kombucha and other probiotics. The anti-establishment has less tendency to be rule compliant, and especially the anti establishment right has many who have long been vaccine skeptics. Especially those familiar with farm life have less germ phobia as they regularly experience that close contact with animals and dirt doesn’t make them sick. On the contrary, research now shows that early exposure to the type of evolutionarily familiar pathogens in the natural world gives the immune system the expected microbes to work on. Conversely, an overly-sterilized environment leads to the immune system looking harder for what it’s supposed to combat, leading to more autoimmune response and allergies. However, it is also true that microbes can kill, especially those who are immune compromised.

Anti-establishment Fear of Radiation

Analogous to the establishment fear of microbes, the anti-establishment fears radiation, such as overexposure to cellphone towers and wifi. Especially the anti-establishment left protests nuclear power based on the potential for environmental contamination, even as the establishment left more often promotes nuclear as a source of power that reduces fossil fuel use. Especially the counterculture left tends to dislike what is not “natural,” sometimes including microwave ovens. Many in the anti-establishment are sceptical of technology in general. They would rather not be the guinea pigs on which new forms of technology are tried. The spread of fear of 5G is probably most attributed to the populist right Pew type. Also in the yellow quadrant, the dissident right has a large contingency of tech bros, which has a large focus on physical health and strength. They like to dig into medical research, and they are open to considering fringe hypotheses and research about prolonged cell phone use causing or contributing to brain cancer. They may value and use electronics, but may turn on airplane mode frequently for their phones and laptops.   

Establishment Dismissal of Radiation as a Threat

It seems if a technology has been around long enuf and is considered safe by institutional authorities, those in this quadrant are usually not concerned.

Quadrant Fears In Text Form

Auth-Left Quadrant

Fears civilians owning guns, especially around the topic of school shootings and suicide of minors.

Auth-Right Quadrant

Fears marijuana and psychedelics especially, because they purportedly lead to addiction and crime, or at least in the case of marijuana some disorderly conduct or laziness. Cocaine maybe is okay, because it’s indulged in by the affluent. Also it doesn’t take you out of touch with “reality” or chill you out to the point you decide to do your work later, maybe much later. In fact, what makes you more energized and mentally sharp might not be so bad.

Lib-Right Quadrant

Fears vaccinations because of distrust of the establishment. According to a rural public health nurse who I spoke to directly, the free vaccines available at public health clinics tend to have mercury as a preservative, and adjuvants. These are considered culprits for triggering onset of autism, an idea said to be debunked by establishment scientists but that continues to be spread by anecdotal accounts. Further, the dissident right tends to be big-picture thinkers and early adopters, willing to consider non-traditional explanations if they have some plausible rationale.

Lib-left (Green) Quadrant

Fears pollution and fossil fuel use, especially as related to global warming and destruction of habitat, threatening human food sources as well as diminishing biodiversity.

Thanks for reading. Here’s a related post.