this, from robert reich, is horseshit.
The difference has to do with the kind of personalities the two parties attract. People who respect authority, follow orders, want clear answers, obey commands, and prefer precise organization and control, tend to gravitate toward Republicans.
On the other hand, people who don't much like authority, recoil from orders, don't believe in clear answers, often disobey commands, and prefer things a bit undefined, tend to gravitate to the Democrats.
In short, the Republican Party is the party of the authoritarian personality; the Democratic Party is the party of the anti-authoritarian personality.
if surveys show that dems consider themselves anti-authoritarians, then they show at the same moment that dems are incredibly self-deluded, to the point that they have no idea what they are advocating or why. so, state power rests on, consists of, coercive authority. dems are extreme enthusiasts for state power: every single problem has a solution involving increased bureaucracy, regulation, dependency, taxation, surveillance, and so on. people whose entire program just is mere authoritiarianism and who believe of themselves that they are anti-authoritarian need to shut up for a few decades and reflect on themselves.
