Morality, Activism and Radicalism in the Brazilian Left and the Brazilian Right

Abstract

In the last few years, there has been a rising tension in Brazilian politics between individuals who identify as left-wing and those who identity as right-wing. Sometimes those tensions have resulted in radical behavior from people who identify with either side of the political spectrum. This paper has two main goals: (a) to investigate (using the Moral Foundations Theory as a basis) the moral matrices of participants who identify as being left, center-left, center-right, and right; and (b) to compare the indices of activism and radicalism between participants with diff erent political orientations. There were 226 participants in the study, most of which were from the Federal District (64.16%). The participants answered an online survey composed of the Moral Foundations Questionnaire, the Activism and Radicalism Intention Scale, and informed demographic data (including their polit ical preference). Diff erences were found in the moral matrices of participants with diff erent political positions. Higher indices of activism and radicalism were found among participants who self-declared as being left and center-left. Based on the fi eld's literature, the perception of unfairness held by individuals who identify as left in the current political context may help to understand these fi ndings.

After 2018 Bolsonaro victory, is a 2022 remake feasible?

“…From the set of parameters, even taking into account that the radicals do not interact with the other two classes (sensitives and inflexibles), the presence of such radicals is important. The growing of radicalism observed in Brazil [25] is reflected in the increasing values of L and R over the years.…”

The foundations of Bolsonaro's support: Exploring the psychological underpinnings of political polarization in Brazil

“…In Brazil, Gloria Filho and Modesto (2019) found that, as in the United States, individuals on the 'left' placed greater emphasis on the 'individualizing' foundations. However, evidence that individuals on the 'right' placed greater emphasis on the 'binding' foundations was equivocal.…”

“…His defeated rival, Fernando Haddad of the left-wing Partido dos Trabalhadores (PT), won 44.9%. Bolsonaro's victory was aided by the recent allegations of corruption against Rousseff and the PT but also by a more general erosion of public trust in traditional parties and the tendency to blame them for economic and social crises (Solano, 2019) and dissatisfaction with the political situation coming from both sides of the political spectrum the left and the right (Gloria Filho & Modesto, 2019).…”

A Influência das Crenças Conspiratórias e Orientação Política na Vacinação

“…O Brasil tem vivenciado um processo de intensa polarização política desde 2013, que se intensificou durante as eleições presidenciais de 2018 (Gloria-Filho & Modesto, 2019;Hunter & Power, 2019). Em uma pandemia, a polarização política se apresenta como barreira para ações coordenadas com a finalidade de desacelerar a transmissão do vírus, uma vez que o indivíduo parece se preocupar mais em estar alinhado com a opinião do grupo do que buscar informação confiável (Bavel et al, 2020;Modesto, Zacarias, Galli, & Neiva, 2020).…”