That’s an interesting metaphor. I’ve heard something similar over the years (leftism = heart, conservatism = brain). I suppose in some broad way, it could seem that way. But honestly, the values that the left espouses — and the policies that flow from them — have sound data backing them up. Countries with a strong social safety net, freedom and equality for all people, and strong workers’ rights all lead the pack in regards to quality of life, lifespan, overall health (both physical and mental), while having lower crime, poverty, teen pregnancy, rates of addiction, etc.

Conservatism — the kind espoused by academics and serious pundits, as opposed to random conspiracy theorists — seems to be built on an ideology similar to what Ayn Rand espoused — but correct me if I’m wrong. The idea that unfettered self-interest, the pursuit of profits and material success should be the end-all, be-all of human existence, and that government itself is a bad idea, and instead corporations and the wealthy are much better suited to running things…well, we’ve tried that for about 40 years now, and we see where it’s gotten us. We had basically that same system after the Industrial Revolution, and it gave us the Gilded Age, a literal Dickensian society of widespread suffering and death.

So I don’t buy into the theory that conservatives are somehow more intellectual or logic-based than liberals. The facts just don’t back it up.