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The Biophysical Basis of Sociopolitical Thought, Charles Konia, Vol 35, No 1

The Origin of the Differences in Sociopolitical Thought

Baker again provides clues as to the genesis of the differences in the process of thinking between liberals and conservatives (1:170).

The modern liberal lives almost entirely in his intellect. His brain is the substitute for genital potency; it gives him a basis for feeling superior, much as the phallic character uses his erect penis to feel superior. The liberal pierces everyone around him with his sharp brain. In place of phallic contempt, the liberal uses intellectual contempt, arrogance and clever verbal castration.

While conservative sociopolitical thinking originates from the distorted perception of frustrated genital impulses originating from the biological core (emotions), the sociopolitical thinking of liberals originates from the shift of energy (frustrated genital impulses) from the pelvis to the brain. This shift results in the transformation of emotion into sensation. It can be written orgonometrically as follows:

The individual's sociopolitical character is set early in life. I have seen examples of sociopolitical thinking and behavior in preadolescent children.

These disturbances are not limited to the sociopolitical arena. They extend into many areas of the individual's life.

Religion

There are striking qualitative differences in the manifestations of religious mystical experience as they are observed from the different sides of the sociopolitical spectrum. It is from these experiences that the qualitative differences in religious mystical thought is derived. There is a preponderance of one source of thought (emotion or sensation) over the other:

• Where the radial component (emotion) predominates, individuals are attracted to conservative, orthodox or fundamentalist sects.
• Where the longitudinal component (sensation) predominates, individuals are attracted to the liberal sects. Examples include the liberal persuasions of Judeo-Christian religions, Buddhism and other Eastern religions, and New Age religions, etc.

Popular Music and the Arts

From the standpoint of sociopolitical characterology, popular musicians and artists and their audiences can be roughly divided into two general types. The musical tastes of the political right tend toward popular religious music (i.e., "Christian music"), classic country music, and mainstream music of past decades ("oldies"). This music contains a certain amount of genuine emotional expression and some-times has real depth. It has the ability to stir the listener from within.

Pop music from the political left, the predominant music preferred by today's masses of youth, consists of sounds externally impressed on the listener. It is usually harsh and often vulgar. It appeals because it excites the senses and not the emotions, and therefore deserves to be called "sensational."  6 Harsh sounding, offensive and distracting in its most extreme form (rap music for example), it is often little more than repetitive sounds mechanically bombarding the senses of the listener. There is no evidence of beauty in the quality of musical sounds nor is any intended.  7 Much of what passes for art today is also the product of individuals who are on the political left. It is often created to shock or titillate.

The social consequences resulting from these various forms of distortion help to further polarize society into opposing ideological camps. The effect is to produce uniformity in feeling and thinking in each group, liberal and conservative alike.

Conclusion

There are two energetic components that give rise to thought- emotion and sensation. Accordingly, people usually fall into two general categories. Those whose thinking is derived primarily from the perception of the radial component of energy movement (emotion) lie to the right on the sociopolitical spectrum. Those whose thinking is predominantly derived from the perception of the longitudinal component (sensation) lie to the political left. The two components can occur in any combination. In healthy individuals emotion and sensation are perceived with equal intensity. Since neither function in the service of defense, emotion, sensation and intellect are in harmony.

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Footnotes

6. Music on the left approaches emotional expression only by being sentimental. Music on the right, especially if performed by mystical musicians, can also be sentimental. The fact remains, however, that music on the right does express emotions of varying degrees of depth while that on the left relies on sensation. back to text

7. The effect of liberalism on today's culture has also degraded the quality of classical music. Classical musicians today are far less emotionally expressive in their performances than those of forty years ago and before. This can readily be appreciated by comparing recordings of the great artists of the past to those of today. Also, the preference of many of today's musicians to use period instruments over modern ones is a sign that they are more interested in the sensations produced by the music than the emotional expression. back to text

References

1. Baker, E. Man in the Trap. Princeton, NJ: ACO Press, 2000. (Originally published in 1967 by Macmillan, New York.)

2. Crist, P. In a personal communication.