Liberals answer "yes." From that flows their explanation for bad behavior which must have external causes: poverty, abuse, hopelessness, discrimination, and the like.
Since people are basically good, their acts of evil must be explained by factors beyond their control. Their behavior is not really their fault; and when conservatives blame blacks for rioting and other criminal behavior, liberals accuse them of "blaming the victim."Conservatives answer "man is fully capable of both good and evil." From that flows their willingness to blame bad behavior on bad choices made by the malefactor.
In the conservative view, people who do evil are to be blamed because they made bad choices -- and they did so because they either have little self-control or a dysfunctional conscience. In either case, they are to blame. That's why the vast majority of equally poor people -- black or white -- do not riot or commit violent crimes.I look forward to Prager's next column in this series.
