Understanding Libertarian Morality: The Psychological Dispositions of Self-Identified Libertarians

TLDR

Libertarians are an increasingly prominent ideological group in U.S. politics, yet they have been largely unstudied. The study sought to understand the moral and psychological characteristics of self‑identified libertarians using 16 measures in a large web‑based sample of 11,994 participants. The authors employed a web‑based survey guided by an intuitionist framework, measuring affective and cognitive dispositions across 16 moral and psychological variables.

Abstract

Libertarians are an increasingly prominent ideological group in U.S. politics, yet they have been largely unstudied. Across 16 measures in a large web-based sample that included 11,994 self-identified libertarians, we sought to understand the moral and psychological characteristics of self-described libertarians. Based on an intuitionist view of moral judgment, we focused on the underlying affective and cognitive dispositions that accompany this unique worldview. Compared to self-identified liberals and conservatives, libertarians showed 1) stronger endorsement of individual liberty as their foremost guiding principle, and weaker endorsement of all other moral principles; 2) a relatively cerebral as opposed to emotional cognitive style; and 3) lower interdependence and social relatedness. As predicted by intuitionist theories concerning the origins of moral reasoning, libertarian values showed convergent relationships with libertarian emotional dispositions and social preferences. Our findings add to a growing recognition of the role of personality differences in the organization of political attitudes.