I was browsing the TED.com site the other day and stumbled upon this fascinating 18-minute talk on what divides liberals and conservatives, from a very deep psychological research point of view. It’s interesting to me how relevant this is on the long term, even after the cacophony of the last presidential elections.

Psychologist Jonathan Haidt summarizes research into (among other things) five very deep cross-cultural moral fundamentals that seem to show up in humans throughout history. And how these seem to track across political and ethical views.

http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf

This isn’t strictly speaking topical; it’s from before the last election. But I found, reading it last night, that it is as topical as ever.

While I try not to get into politics often, at least not on this blog, I’m impressed by the way he finds common ground on both sides, and wisdom in bringing ourselves together, rather than apart. That’s a compelling message.

It’s not hard to watch this right up to the end, because it’s fascinating from the beginning. But that message at the end makes it even more valuable.