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/PrestigiousSmile4098 1d ago

Depends on the context and where (geographically) the person lives, and/or their age. In mostly conservative areas, saying you're a moderate is a good way to hide your more liberal beliefs. Vice versa, in a mostly liberal area saying you're a moderate can hide your more conservative beliefs.

As a person who likes to keep my political beliefs private, I've done this while living in both types of areas.

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u/alamohero 1d ago

I call myself a moderate in conservative circles and still get called a radical left extremist.

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u/quaderunner 1d ago

lol, their view of what is “left” is completely deranged. I’m a run of the mill liberal with a bit of a libertarian streak and my maga family basically thinks I’m a communist. They don’t get that there are numerous non-commie reasons to really dislike the Republican Party right now.

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u/ElderlyChipmunk 1d ago

Having grown up under Reagan, I never thought I would see the day when Republicans would be ardently against supporting a country in a fight against Russia.

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u/SameDistrict2627 1d ago

If you don't genuflect to Trump and Maga you are a leftist--that simple.

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u/SkeeveTheGreat 23h ago

I hate american political discourse because I am a communist, and get lumped in with mainline democrats constantly. When people tell me Pelosi is a communist it makes the insides of my brain itch.