Quote:
Originally Posted by Prestidigitweeze
One problem is that the answer to that question is itself often politicized.
I have friends whose economic and political views would lead me to conclude they're insufficiently concerned with other people's welfare. But in practice, those same friends demonstrate time and again that they are extremely concerned about other people's welfare -- not only that of their friends and family, but for strangers whom they encounter in everyday life.
I would say that an ideological ally in the abstract is a person whose character has not yet been tested, whereas a person who has proved to be consistent, empathetic and principled in real life might hold apparently unjust political views for their own reasons -- reasons which I might find mistaken but which do not define them as moral beings.
Political views are often the result of how people receive and interpret information. Individual conduct is a better indicator of their character.
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And occasionally to what information they have been exposed to, and when. Not all life experiences are the same, nor do they always lead to the same conclusions...