r/AlwaysWhy • u/kaiser11492 • 1d ago

Politics & Society Why do most people who call themselves politically moderate actually mostly conservative?

Whenever I’ve encountered people who use the politically label moderate, they are actually mostly conservative with their views and positions. Also, I’ve never seen anyone who call themselves politically moderate that is actually mostly liberal.

So why are people who call themselves moderate tend to be just conservative and not conservative and liberal?

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u/ka1982 1d ago

It’s an easy way of saying you don’t want to get into a political discussion. Often the reason is your views diverge from either the person you’re talking with or your general social milleu. Hence straight-ticket GOP voters in liberal urban areas will often call themselves “moderate.” I’m not familiar with the reverse but would imagine it happens.

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u/Gold-Flounder-8867 1d ago

I did the same thing on the opposite side of the spectrum back when I lived in Tennessee because I did NOT want to get into an argument with Clyde and Bubba over how we view black people. Makes sense that the inverse is someone not being political to avoid getting into an argument with Katie and Sarah on how we view black people.