People’s moral compass is reflected in general elections

Using the Gemenskapsbarometern, researchers have, for the first time, tested a leading social-psychological theory on the significance of morals for human behaviour and social life within a large Swedish population. The Moral Foundations Theory, which was developed by the American social psychologist Jonathan Haidt, is based on extensive research suggesting that people are not born as moral “blank slates”, but rather are equipped with at least a “first draft” of an innate moral compass.

Jonathan Haidt – who in Sweden is best known for his book The Righteous Mind and his research on social media’s impact on mental health – has identified a number of universal moral foundations, which can be divided into two categories: individual-oriented foundations (care and fairness) and collective-oriented foundations (loyalty, authority and sanctity). Different people prioritise these foundations in different ways – much like some prefer salty foods and others sweet. These differences may help explain why we think differently about politics and society.

Moral foundations in Sweden

In the Swedish study, researchers Lars Trägårdh, Daniel Almén and Johan Wennström investigated how these moral foundations are distributed in Sweden and how they relate to trust, willingness to defend the country and party political preferences.

The results of the survey indicate that men and people over the age of fifty have a preference for the collective-oriented moral foundations. Higher education is linked to a preference for the individual-oriented moral foundations. Somewhat unexpectedly, however, the researchers find no evidence of any significant moral polarisation between urban and rural residents.

“The results do not support our hypothesis that there is a major difference in moral values between urban and rural residents, with urban residents placing greater emphasis on the individual-oriented moral foundations. On the contrary, the differences between residents in different types of Swedish municipalities are small,” says Lars Trägårdh, Visiting Professor at the Institute for Housing and Urban Research and Project Manager for Gemenskapsbarometern.

Social trust or willingness to defend

The report also shows that people with high levels of social trust exhibit a preference for the individual-oriented foundations, while individuals with a high willingness to defend their country exhibit a preference for the collective-oriented foundations.

“This suggests a contrast to the widely held view that trust is central to a willingness to defend one’s country. We intend to examine this more closely in the next interim report,” says Lars Trägårdh.

The researchers find the greatest moral differences among the voter bases of the political parties. The survey shows that those who prioritise the collective-oriented foundations of loyalty, authority and sanctity vote to a slightly lesser extent.

Patterns emerge among those who vote

But above all, patterns emerge among those who actually do vote. Left Party and the Green Party voters strongly emphasise fairness and care. Individuals who vote for any of the four so-called “Tidö parties” instead prioritise loyalty, authority and sanctity. Social Democratic Party voters are closest to the national average.

“Social Democratic Party voters are closest to ‘the people’ in our survey. Only Centre Party voters come close to being as ‘moderate’ and well-balanced as those of the Social Democratic Party when it comes to embracing the moral foundations. The results are in line with the historical development of social democracy: from a party built on narrow class interests to a unifying national party, where the originally conservative concepts of ‘the people’ and ‘the people’s home’ welfare state model took centre stage in the party’s political language. Even in the Centre Party – with its roots in the farmers’ party Bondeförbundet – you can find this type of historical balance between popular-national emphasis on community and concern for the position of the freeholder farmers,” says Lars Trägårdh.

Ulrika Wahlberg