When I heard that rabble.ca and Canadian Dimension were hosting UC Berkeley linguistics Professor George Lakoff  for a public speaking engagement, I knew that it was a “must-see” event. While I can’t say that I’ve read a lot of Lakoff’s work, I did read parts of Don’t Think of an Elephant a few years ago and a few short articles on current events. As with many new ideas, the challenge was trying to figure out how to put them into practice. 

So I bought a ticket and bought the new edition of Don’t Think of an Elephant I didn’t take notes as I wasn’t intending to write about the event. This post is meant as “reflections” rather than “reporting” or an attempt to summarize and explain cognitive and lingustic processes. 

The format included a one-hour presentation followed by about an hour of questions and comments. 

10 things I learned

1. Our values are shaped in our formative years

 Lakoff dichotimizes values into two groups, which flow from the “nurturing parent family” and the “strict father family.” He asserts that all politics are “moral,” i.e. politics flow from our values. Cooperation, compromise and the sense of “the commons” are central to the nurturant value system. “Rise all boats.” At the core of the conservative world view is the “strict father family” model which must be protected at all costs. “Sink our enemies boats”. 

Many of our values are subconscious. These values become “hard-wired” in our brains. 

2. Our politics reflect our value systems

From here, Lakoff further dichotimizes politics into two categories – progressive and conservative. Progressives are shaped by the nurturing model while conservatives are shaped by the strict father model.

3. “Moderates” — Most people don’t fall neatly into one category

While there are “die-hards” in both categories, many people are “bi-conceptual” or what Lakoff describes as political “moderates”. They may support conservative economic policies while supporting a woman’s right to control her body. Or they may support progressive economic policies while also supporting capital punishment. 

Because we can’t neatly analogize the U.S. two-party system with Canada’s somewhat more diverse political spectrum, this led to a bit of confusion as Lakoff also refers to “progressives” as “liberals.” And while he was not saying so, some in the audience interpreted Lakoff’s analysis to mean that the Democratic Party in the U.S. and the Liberal Party of Canada are “progressive”. If anything, they are both “moderate” parties. There is nothing comparable to the NDP in the U.S. which we consider to be a “progressive” party. 

4. There is no one in the exact political centre

Lakoff talked about a project he’s working on with others to reinvent polling which he attributes as the main reason that progressives move to the right. He points out that conservatives almost never move to the left.  Moderates are not an ideological group with any degree of consistency. I guess that’s why we call them, “the mushy middle.” 

5. Conservatives effectively frame issues to reinforce their politics and values

Lakoff’s starting point is in academia. Conservative-minded people study business. This includes marketing and other courses which are used to “sell” products. Progressives are more inclined to study social sciences which are influenced by “the Enlightenment” and age of reason. 

6. Do not reinforce conservative frames

Language matters. A lot When progressives respond to conservative ideas, we often use facts and logic to try and rebuke their position and win people over to ours. Don’t do this. Save your breath. Know what you’re arguing against. Reinforcing conservative frames and values does not move us forward. When a party like the NDP offers “tax cuts”, they reinforce the view that voters are looking for “tax relief” which is a conservative frame that likens taxes to a disease. Do not be drawn into their traps. 

For example, he implored people not to use the term “public services” preferring to frame it as “public resources to better our private lives”. The word “services” is used by conservatives to describe what the private sector does.  No such analogy exists. It is a trap. The nurturant world view must reinforce how and why public resources help people in their personal lives. 

This is where “don’t think of an elephant” comes in. As soon as you say that, what’s the first thing that people think of? An elephant. 

7. Be true to your moral perspective and values

To communicate effectively with voters and others, tell them what it is that you believe. The starting point is our moral perspective.  Talk about what you’re in favour of and use your own frames as the basis for your critique of what you are against. This requires “re-framing” issues using our own progressive values and language.  This requires upfront work that will pay off later. 

8. Business cannot function without public resources

 Without public infrastructure including roads, education, water, electricity, etc. business could not function. They are not autonomous units who pulled themselves up by the bootstraps and succeeded on their own. They rely on public resources. Those who benefit must pay their fair share. 

9. Don’t waste your breath

 No matter how logical and fact-based your arguments, you will not make any ground with ideological conservative thinkers because what you’re saying does not fit their world view. They will use any number of techniques to dismiss your arguments. 

10. Appealing to moderates

 The key to success — at least electoral success — is to focus on winning moderates over to progressive positions by framing issues in such a way as to trigger their “nurturing” values. 

Lakoff covered a lot more ground that my reflections above. He also talked about “direct and systemic causation”, neurons in the brain, personal responsibility versus collective responsibility, “family values”, the importance of metaphors and the use of violence in both child-rearing and at protests. 

 

You can listen to Lakoff’s presentation here.There’s other stuff on the net as well and you can also visit Lakoff’s website. 

A big thanks to rabble.ca and Canadian Dimension for bringing Lakoff to Toronto. Let’s hope that this is followed up — by some group or other — with more concrete opportunities to learn how to frame and re-frame the issues of the day so that we can up our game.

Gary Shaul

Gary Shaul is a life-long Torontonian and retired Ontario civil servant. He's been involved with a number of issues over the past 45 years including trade unionism, proportional representation, Indigenous...