Reply #42: I have a slight different take on the complexity issue

[sangha]

In addition to there being a split between the right and the left, there's also a split between those whose beliefs were formed on the basis of reasoning things out, and those whose beliefs were formed by being handed down by an authority figure of some sort. Though this latter group is often associated with the right, and IMO justifiably, I believe we have a few on the left too. I'd be surprised if there weren't a significant portion of us who "inherited" their liberalism from their parents, or peer group when they were teenagers, etc.

IMO, people whose beliefs lie at the extreme poles, tend to rely more strongly on arguments by authority. Since their beliefs are not supported by an understanding of the facts, evidence of complexity is extremely threatening to them. Not only could it prove them wrong in a particular instance, it also threatens their entire means of securing their beliefs.

People often get mad at people they fear. Politically aware "moderates", by raising evidence of complexity, scare those who rely on authority, and so they hate them and call them names, like "moderate", regardless of the "moderates" actual positions. For the extremists, "moderate" is an epithet.